Ask Me No Questions
by Kalen Archer
Summary: A new girl at Hogwarts reminds Snape of a woman from his past. Their connection leads Snape to a shocking discovery that has longlasting consequences.
1. Introducing Ellie

**Author's Notes: **The first three chapters introduce the reader to the main character, Ellie Winterbourne. Snape doesn't appear until chapter 4. Feel free to skip to chapter 4. I won't be offended. ;-)

This story is set about three years before the Harry Potter series begins.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**Chapter One: Introducing Ellie**

At the end of the garden, behind Mrs. Manning's prized rose bushes, Ellie lay on her stomach with her legs swinging in the air. She was enjoying the cool breeze that was blowing gently against her face. She picked a nearby daisy from the grass and began to pluck out the petals.

"Eleanora! Eleanora where are you?" a voice from the house shouted. Ellie sighed. She was tempted to stay where she was, the bushes shielded her from view from the house, but she knew that eventually Mrs. Manning would come looking for her and she would save herself one scolding at least by coming when she was called.

Ellie stood up reluctantly, and brushed the stray grass strands and traces of dust and dried muck from her clothes and hurried towards the house. When she came around the rose bush she saw Mrs. Manning standing just outside the patio door, her arms folded and tapping her left foot. This was not a good sign. When Mrs. Manning adopted this stance, it usually meant that she, Ellie, was in trouble.

She hurried up the garden to the waiting Mrs. Manning and stood before her, waiting to hear what it was she had done this time. She didn't have to wait long.

"Where have you been you silly girl? I've been calling you! Mr. Stone is here for your lesson."

"But I came as soon as you called!" Ellie protested indignantly.

That was the wrong thing to do. Mrs. Manning's eyes narrowed, and she glared at Ellie. Ellie gulped. Now she was in for it.

"I won't take any insolence from you girl," Mrs. Manning began, wagging her finger at Ellie. "I look after you out of the goodness of my heart when no one else would and I expect some respect! All the money I've thrown away on you! Who gives you a roof over your head? Who puts food in front of you? Who buys clothes for you?"

As Mrs. Manning uttered the last part of her sentence, she looked Ellie up and down and then screeched.

"Child, what on _earth_ have you been doing? You're filthy!" Mrs. Manning said angrily.

Ellie looked down at her clothes guiltily. There was a patch of muck on her jeans from where she had been lying on the ground. She looked back up at Mrs Manning.

"Sorry," she said meekly. Mrs. Manning stared at her for a moment and then sighed.

"Just like her mother," she muttered to herself, but Ellie's sharp ears caught it.

"Really?" Ellie asked, curious. It wasn't often Mrs. Manning would speak about her mother.

"Get in to your lesson!" Mrs. Manning told Ellie, ignoring what she had said. Ellie sighed and did as Mrs. Manning said. There was no point in pushing Mrs. Manning to tell her more. Ellie had learned long ago that it never got her anywhere.

Ellie greeted Mr. Stone with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Mr. Stone was alright. He called her "young lady" a lot but he said it in a nice way, not like the way Mrs. Manning said it when she was in trouble. Sometimes when Ellie did really well in her work Mr. Stone would give her a bar of chocolate. Mrs. Manning didn't approve of children eating chocolate (it rots your teeth!) so Ellie would stuff it up her jumper until she could smuggle it off to her room. Ellie had once questioned why chocolate would ruin _her_ teeth but it was okay for Mrs. Manning and her friends to eat chocolate cake when they had their garden parties, but Mrs. Manning had berated her for her rudeness and banned her from watching T.V. for a week.

Mr. Stone had been coming to the house everyday to school her for almost a year – ever since the "incident", as Mrs. Manning called it, at her old school. It happened when Martha Jones and Elizabeth Proudfoot had been teasing a new girl at school – Bethany Smith. Bethany was small and shy, a perfect target for Martha and Elizabeth. Ellie had discovered them in a classroom throwing wooden blackboard dusters at Bethany. Ellie had rushed to Bethany's defence at once, but then found herself on the receiving end of the dusters. She had to hold her hands over her head as the dusters rained down on her. She felt really angry, and wished that Martha and Elizabeth were the ones being pelted with the hard wooden dusters instead. Suddenly she noticed that nothing was hitting her anymore, and she heard Martha and Elizabeth screaming. She put her hands down and saw that the dusters were being flung at Martha and Elizabeth. She looked around, but there was no one throwing them. It was as if the dusters were doing it themselves! Martha and Elizabeth ran screaming out of the classroom, and the dusters followed them up the corridor, hitting them on the head repeatedly. Ellie followed them out into the corridor and watched, amazed. The two scared (and bruised) girls ran into the headmaster of the school, Mr. McDonagh, and immediately the dusters fell to the ground and lay there motionless.

Of course, Martha and Elizabeth told Mr. McDonagh that Ellie had attacked them and thrown the dusters at them. Mr. McDonagh had called in Mrs. Manning. When Ellie protested her innocence and insisted that the dusters had attacked Martha and Elizabeth all by themselves, Mrs. Manning jumped up, horrified.

She grabbed Ellie's arm and hauled her out of Mr Mc. Donagh's office, proclaiming that Ellie would never set foot inside the school again. Mr. McDonagh was confused and tried to reason with Mrs. Manning, but she wouldn't listen. She was true to her word. Ellie was not allowed to return to school, and instead Mr. Stone came to teach her Maths and English and History, and everything else that was appropriate for a ten-year-old girl.

Ellie didn't miss school that much. She had never made that many friends. She kept to herself mostly, apart from when she came up against Martha and Elizabeth. It was nice not to have to see them again. Sometimes though, Ellie wished some of the nicer girls from school would call in to see her. Someone like Lisa Jenkins or Emma Walsh, or even Bethany Smith. But nobody came, so Ellie was stuck with Mrs. Manning.

Mrs. Manning was a very old lady, from Ellie's perspective anyway. She was in her seventies and had long grey hair that she pinned up neatly in tight bun every day. She wore thick glasses that covered her brown eyes. She was tall, thin, and bony, especially her hands, which Ellie had felt the back of more times than she could remember.

Ellie tried to be good, but Mrs. Manning had very strict ideas about children's' behaviour. She had once been a nanny to Ellie's mother and Ellie got the impression that she didn't much approve of her mother. Mrs. Manning did not like to talk much about Ellie's family. Ellie knew that her mother's name was Claudia and that she had died shortly after Ellie was born, of what Ellie didn't know. Her grandparents had taken care of her when she was a baby but they had been very old and they both passed away when she was little. Ellie had been left all alone in the world with no one to care for her. That's when Mrs. Manning came along and rescued her from the orphanage, or at least that is what Mrs. Manning would say from time to time anyway. Ellie had wondered why her father had not taken care of her after her mother's death but when she had asked Mrs. Manning about this Mrs. Manning had snorted and muttered that maybe if Claudia had been more forthcoming her father would have taken care of her. Ellie didn't quite understand this but when she questioned Mrs. Manning further Mrs. Manning had barked at her to be quiet and never speak to her of that subject again. Mrs. Manning had however given her a photo of her mother, which Ellie treasured more than anything in the world and kept in a frame beside her bed.

Ellie thought she looked a lot like her mother. She had blonde hair and blue eyes like her. Ellie often talked to the picture of her mother when she was feeling scared or upset. She never dared to tell anyone else this though.

"Do you understand Eleanora?" a voice said, snapping Ellie out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Mr. Stone looking expectantly at her. Ellie blushed. She hadn't listened to a word he had said. She felt guilty. Mr. Stone was always kind to her and it wasn't fair to daydream during his lessons. She hesitated slightly, and then asked him if he could repeat what he had said because she was confused. She hoped that Mr. Stone would accept this and not realise that the reason she was confused was that she had spent the last half hour lost in her own thoughts. Thankfully, Mr. Stone nodded his head, and patiently began to repeat the lesson.

After Mr. Stone had left, Ellie had to do her chores. She had to mop the kitchen floor, dust the downstairs rooms, polish the silver in the cabinet in the living room, and air out the upstairs rooms, which Mrs. Manning was always complaining were musty. Mrs. Manning was tending to her plants and bushes in the garden. Tending to the plants and bushes generally meant having a look over them and noting what ever work Ellie needed to do to keep things in shape, and then having a snooze in one of the lounge chairs in the garden. Ellie didn't mind this work too much. Mrs. Manning was very old and was too frail to do it all herself. The one thing Ellie had nothing to do with was Mrs. Manning's prized rose bushes. A woman came specially to see to them. Mrs. Manning was afraid that Ellie might ruin them. Ellie wasn't insulted by this. The bushes had very sharp thorns growing on them as well as roses. She didn't fancy being pricked by one of them.

Days like these were generally how Ellie's life went on. Occasionally Mrs. Manning would take Ellie out for a treat to the cinema, to the zoo, or out shopping for new clothes. Mrs. Manning could be very strict and often grew impatient with Ellie, but she could also be nice too. When Mrs. Manning went out alone and left Ellie with Mrs. Dunne who lived across the street, she always brought Ellie back a present. Even though sometimes Ellie didn't like Mrs. Manning very much (usually when Mrs. Manning was yelling at her for getting her clothes dirty or for not washing the windows properly or for asking silly questions) she was grateful to Mrs. Manning for giving her a home. Ellie had heard stories about orphanages before and she was definitely glad that she didn't have to go and live in one of them.

On a sunny July day, just one day before her eleventh birthday, Ellie was bored. Mrs. Manning was having a meeting with her committee out in the garden. Ellie wasn't sure exactly what the committee did beyond gossiping and drinking tea, but Mrs. Manning had shooed her away into the house anyway so she wasn't going to find out today. She lay on her bed for a while, looking at the picture of her mother when an idea suddenly struck her. She wasn't sure where the idea had come from; it just appeared in her head. Ellie had never really been in the attics, two stories up from her bedroom. There was nothing up there but a load of old junk, but looking at the picture of her mother, Ellie wondered if maybe there were other photos of her mother up there, or even some of her things. Mrs. Manning usually forbade Ellie to go up there, but she was out in the garden entertaining her friends, so she would never know.

Ellie crept up the flight of stairs to the next story of the house. At the end of the landing was a door that led to the staircase up to the attic. Feeling a thrill of excitement at this sudden adventure, Ellie raced along the landing, yanked open the door and rushed up the stairs.

When she reached the top, the room was dark. Sunlight streamed in from two windows, one at either end of the room, and in a few moments Ellie's eyes adjusted to the light and she could see. She looked around. The room was very dusty. Sheets covered interesting looking lumps. Ellie pulled the nearest sheet to her and a cloud of smoke enveloped her. She coughed and sneezed. She waved the air in front of her, trying to settle the dust, and eventually she could see properly again. A chair lay under the sheet. It was old looking, and reminded Ellie of something she had seen in an old castle that Mrs. Manning had taken her to visit once.

Ellie moved on, looking under other sheets to see what else was in the room. She found more chairs like the first one, and an old table, but finally she found something more interesting. Lying near a window was an old looking chest. She tried the lid, hoping it wasn't locked, and to her delight, she found that the lid began to lift up. It was heavy, so it took most of her strength to heave it open, but after about half a minute, she managed it.

She looked inside and saw lots of old looking bits of yellowish paper with writing on them. She picked one piece up and found it felt stiff and rougher than normal paper. She looked at the writing to see what it said. She was surprised to see that the papers were old letters. It wasn't bright enough to make out everything that was written on the papers, but she could make out the names at the bottom: Jonas Winterbourne. That was her grandfather's name. She was very curious now. She picked up some more of the papers, meaning to take them back to her room with her and take a closer look at them. Under the papers, she found a book. It had a black leather cover and it was big. She pulled it out and opened it. Her heart leapt. This is exactly what she had been looking for! It was a photo album. She flipped quickly though the pages, but the poor lighting made it difficult to see. She was torn between wanting to run back to her room immediately to look at the photo album or to keep looking through the chest. She decided that since she was here she might as well check to see if there was anything else of interest in the chest before rushing off. She began to dig deeper. She found another book and dragged it out. On the front, she could make out the word "diary". This was very interesting. She added it to the pile she was taking back to her room.

All that seemed to be left in the chest were more papers, but at the bottom, her hands felt something soft. She pulled it out. It looked like a dress of some sort, or maybe a coat. It was black and long. Curious, Ellie decided to take this with her too. Gathering up her pile, she gingerly made her way to the stairs, afraid of tripping and scattering her newfound treasure everywhere. She descended the stairs carefully, and made her way slowly across the landing, down the other staircase and into her room. She shut the door behind her with her foot and dropped her pile on her bed to examine it.

She tossed aside the black garment and made a beeline for the photo album. Settling herself down on her bed, she opened the first page. Staring back at her, she saw pictures of a man and a woman who had obviously just gotten married. Ellie smiled at their happy grins, but her smile faded quickly as she realised the smiling people in the photo were waving at her. Ellie snapped the album shut quickly, dropped the book on the bed and leapt up, her heart pounding. She stared at the book, her eyes wide open. After a moment, she felt silly. She had been imagining it. People in photos don't wave at you. It was all the excitement getting to her head. Feeling rather foolish, she picked up the album again and sat back down on the bed. She opened the album, this time at the second page, and looked at the pictures. This time it was the same couple but standing in front of a statue. They were waving again.

Ellie looked away from the album, closing her eyes. She gingerly opened one eye and looked back at the photo. The people in it were still waving at her. Okay, she had officially gone crazy. She looked at the other photos on the page. They were mostly of this same couple, sometimes alone and sometimes with other people, and all the people in the picture were moving. Some were waving; some were putting their thumbs up. Occasionally a person would be bobbing their head from side to side with a huge grin on their face. As Ellie went through the album, she came to pictures of a baby. In some pictures, the baby looked like it was crying, in others as if it was laughing. There were lots and lots of pictures of the couple with the baby. Eventually the pictures showed the baby getting older, turning into a toddler, and then into a child. The couple in the picture were getting older too.

Ellie came to some pictures of the couple and the child (a girl Ellie had finally realised) and started. The girl, now older, looked like her! It hit her in a flash – the girl was her mother, and the couple must be her grandparents. She had seen pictures of her grandparents of course, but only of them as an older couple, not young like they were in these pictures. How were they all moving in these pictures though? It didn't make any sense to Ellie.

Ellie continued to look at the photo album until she came to the last page. The album was quite big so this took a long time. In the last few pictures, her grandparents had become recognisable to her. They had begun to look the way they did in the pictures she had seen of them. Her mother looked to be a bit older than her in the last pictures, a teenager. The pictures in the last few pages were very curious. Ellie's mother was wearing a black gown-like item and grinning madly. There was a patch of some sort on the gown, but Ellie couldn't make it out. When she had looked at all the pictures Ellie closed the album over carefully. She was still confused about the moving figures in the photo, and the strange thing her mother had been wearing. She looked idly around the room, and her glance fell on the black garment she had found in the chest. Ellie looked back at the closed photo album and then back at the black garment. Could it be the strange thing her mother had been wearing?

Ellie jumped up and shook out the garment in front of her. It looked a lot like what her mother had been wearing. The patch was there and everything. She looked closely at it. It looked like a crest. The edges were golden and there was a lion on it. Underneath was the word "Gryffindor". Gryffindor, was that someone's name? Why was it sown on to her mother's clothes?

She tried the garment on. It was a bit big on her. She had to scrunch the sleeves up to see her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror and laughed. "I look like a witch!" she thought to herself, remembering some Hallowe'en costumes she had seen before. All she needed was a pointy hat and a broom. Perhaps that's what this gown thing was then, a Hallowe'en costume that her mother had worn.

As Ellie was admiring herself, she heard Mrs. Manning calling her name. Ellie suddenly panicked. If Mrs. Manning caught her with all of these things, she would be furious. She hastily took off the gown and grabbed the photo album, the unread diary and the letters. She stuffed everything at the back of her wardrobe. She noticed her clothes and hair were a bit dusty so she brushed herself down quickly, and then went downstairs. She received a scolding from Mrs. Manning for taking so long, and then was set to work, making sandwiches and cutting slices of cake for Mrs. Manning's garden party. As Ellie worked her mind went back again to the strange photo album. For a wild moment, she considered asking Mrs. Manning about it but she quickly dismissed this idea. There was some mystery going on with that photo album, but Ellie would have to figure it out for herself.


	2. The Letter

** Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. 

**Chapter Two: The Letter  
**

On Ellie's eleventh birthday, something rather strange happened. Ellie was sitting at the kitchen table nibbling on some toast, when she heard the post coming through the letterbox in the hall and clattering to the floor. She jumped up immediately, wondering if maybe she would get a birthday card this year. Last year she had gotten one from Mrs. Manning's sister, Mrs. Collins, and it had a five-pound note tucked inside. When Mrs. Manning had seen it, she had screamed that five pounds was far too much money for a child to have and had taken it away immediately. Ellie never saw it again, but she did notice a few days later that Mrs. Manning had bought herself a nice new teapot with a sticker on the side saying £4.99.

If Mrs. Collins had been nice enough to send her something again then Ellie wanted to get to it before Mrs. Manning came downstairs and saw it. She rushed out to the hall and success! There were two cards for her! Well, there was one card and one letter anyway. Ellie went back into the kitchen and opened the card first. It was from Mrs. Collins, but this time there was no money. Ellie was slightly disappointed. Mrs. Manning must have told Mrs. Collins not to send any more money. Still, it was nice of her to send a card anyway. Ellie set it on the table beside her plate of half-eaten toast. She looked at the letter next. The writing on the front looked strange, like old-fashioned writing, and there was a funny looking seal on the back. Ellie opened the envelope carefully and took out the slip of paper that was inside.

Ellie looked at what the paper said, and was surprised. Across the top of the letter were the words:

HOGWORTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Ellie wondered if the letter was a joke. She continued to read however, and was even more amazed by the rest:

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, _

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Winterbourne,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress_

What on earth did this letter mean? She had a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! What _was_ Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? This must be a joke of some sort, although she didn't know who would play a joke on her. Certainly not Mrs. Manning. Mrs. Manning did not approve of jokes of any sort. They were un-ladylike.

Her mind immediately flashed to the photo album upstairs with the moving pictures and the gown that were stuffed in the back of her wardrobe. She had thought that maybe the gown was a Hallowe'en witch costume of some sort. Could it possibly be real?

Mrs. Manning walked into the kitchen interrupting her thoughts. She wished Ellie a Happy Birthday and produced a card. She noticed the card that Ellie already had in front of her.

"Is that from my sister?" she asked. Ellie nodded.

"She didn't send any money this year did she?" Mrs. Manning asked sharply.

"No, just the card," Ellie replied.

Mrs. Manning saw the letter Ellie was holding in her hand.

"Who's that from?" she asked, curious. Who would be sending the child a letter?

"Oh, um, it's nothing," said Ellie, anxious to keep the contents of the letter to herself while she puzzled it out. Mrs. Manning wouldn't stand for that though.

"Don't be silly child!" she said, and whipped the letter out of Ellie's hand before Ellie could stop her. She looked at the letter and immediately her eyes bulged. Her face turned a funny purple colour and she began breathing heavily through her nostrils. Ellie thought that at that moment she resembled an angry dragon. Ellie knew enough about Mrs. Manning to know that a quick exit might be a good idea right about now.

Ellie slid off her chair and gracefully to the floor, and began to crawl towards the hall. She heard Mrs. Manning begin to speak.

"Albus Dumbledore! That man! That insolent man! I told him when I took you in that you weren't going to that silly school! Of all the nerve!"

Ellie stopped mid-crawl and turned around to look at Mrs. Manning. This was not the reaction she was expecting. She had presumed Mrs. Manning would spend the next ten minutes ranting about the evils of playing silly jokes and wasting people's time, but from the way Mrs. Manning was talking it sounded like the letter wasn't a joke at all. It seemed like Mrs. Manning knew who this "Albus Dumbledore: Headmaster of Hogwarts" was. And what did Mrs. Manning mean by saying she had said that Ellie was not going to "that silly school"? Was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a _real _school then?

Mrs. Manning looked around for Ellie, and was furious to see her on all fours on the floor.

"Get up you stupid child! You're not an animal!" she roared.

Ellie jumped up immediately and stood rooted to the spot as Mrs. Manning glared at her. She felt very uncomfortable.

"Well, that's done it then. I'll have to send you to that school or I'll have Albus Dumbledore knocking on our fireplace. Of all the nerve though! I've a good mind to write him an owl and give him a piece of my mind!" said Mrs. Manning.

Knocking on our fireplace? Write an owl?

"Er, Mrs. Manning. What do you mean by write an owl?" asked Ellie, hoping that Mrs. Manning wouldn't lash out at her for asking a "silly question".

Mrs. Manning groaned and started muttering to herself. Ellie caught most of it. "Have to tell her it all now. No point in pretending anymore."

"Sit down Eleanora," Mrs. Manning said a moment later, massaging her temple with her left hand. She gestured to a chair with her right hand. Ellie did as she was told and waited expectantly to hear what Mrs. Manning had to tell her.

Mrs. Manning looked at Ellie and opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it again. She stood up and began pacing up and down in front of the table. Ellie began to grow impatient, and was on the verge of asking questions when Mrs. Manning stopped pacing and stood still. She began to speak.

"Eleanora, this will be hard for me to explain, so I need you to stay quiet and let me tell you without any interruptions," Mrs. Manning began.

Ellie nodded, signalling her agreement to this and Mrs. Manning nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

"Good. Now, this will probably sound very strange to you, but the fact of the matter is you Eleanora are a witch," Mrs. Manning said.

Ellie's eyes opened wide. She _was_ a witch! Was her mother a witch too? What did this all mean?

"You come from a long line of fine witches and wizards in fact," Mrs. Manning continued. "Yes, the Winterbourne family were one of the oldest and most prestigious pure-blood families in existence in this country," Mrs. Manning said, a note of pride in her voice. She paused for a moment, a faraway look in her eye. Then she turned her gaze back to Ellie, and Ellie thought she could detect a hint of scorn in her expression.

"Of course, then your grandfather, fine man that he was mind you, had to go and marry a Muggle of all people," Mrs. Manning said, sounding disgusted. Mrs. Manning noticed Ellie's obvious confusion at the word "muggle".

"A non-magical person you know," Mrs. Manning clarified, and Ellie nodded, understanding.

"Now, your grandmother was a nice person, and Merlin knows she treated me well. Your parents were good enough to take me on as a nanny to your mother when it became obvious that I would find it, ah, difficult to get on in the wizarding world," Mrs. Manning said.

"Why was it difficult for you to get on in the wizarding world?" Ellie asked.

Mrs. Manning's eyes flashed angrily at her.

"What did I say about no interruptions?" she hissed.

Ellie gulped and mumbled, "Sorry."

Mrs. Manning nodded her head and continued.

"If you must know, I'm a…" she began, and then faltered. Her cheeks began to turn pink. Ellie frowned, confused.

"I'm a… squib," Mrs. Manning finished, sounding very embarrassed.

Ellie opened her mouth to ask what a squib was, but then remembered she wasn't supposed to interrupt. Mrs. Manning caught this however, and explained.

"A squib is a person born to a wizarding family but who cannot use magic themselves."

Ellie nodded in realisation. No wonder Mrs. Manning seemed embarrassed. It must be awful to be in a family of witches and wizards but not be one yourself.

"Moving on," said Mrs. Manning quickly, "as I said I had no personal problems with your grandmother. However, it certainly was a sad day in your family's fine history to see the Winterbourne's pure bloodline polluted with Muggle blood. Simply terrible," said Mrs. Manning in the pathetic tone she sometimes used when she read in the newspaper that someone had died.

Ellie began to feel insulted. Polluted blood? Was Mrs. Manning insinuating that Ellie's mother, and Ellie herself, were "lesser" witches because they had Muggle blood?

"Now dear, don't take this the wrong way. It's not _too_ shameful these days to be a half-blood," said Mrs. Manning in a comforting tone. Ellie did not feel comforted though, she felt disgusted.

"Of course, who knows what you are," Mrs. Manning continued. "No one knows what your father was."

What? No one knows what her father was? What does that mean? Ellie knew it would annoy Mrs. Manning to ask her another question, but she couldn't help herself.

"What do you mean no one knows what my father was?" Ellie asked.

"Well child, you see your mother never told anyone who your father was," Mrs. Manning said in a gentle tone, although Ellie could see the disapproving glint in her eye.

Ellie couldn't believe it. All this time she knew there was something about her father that Mrs. Manning didn't want to tell her, but she didn't think it was that nobody even _knew_ who her father was! Ellie felt awful, like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

"Now, it's best we not dwell on that particular subject. I'm sure your mother had her reasons," Mrs. Manning said briskly.

Ellie felt miserable, but she wanted to hear the rest of Mrs. Manning's story, so she reluctantly nodded.

"Now then, where was I? Ah, yes. Anyway, your grandfather's family has had a long line of prestigious witches and wizards and all attended Hogwarts. Your mother did too. She was a fine witch I will admit, although I didn't always see eye to eye with her on _other_ matters. Now when your mother died, so tragic you know, your kind grandfather and grandmother took you in to raise. They were both getting old unfortunately though. They had married late in life you see, mid-thirties; your mother wasn't born until your grandmother was almost forty. Anyway, they took you in and raised you until you were about three, and then there was that awful wizard flu epidemic. Your grandmother was gone like that (Mrs. Manning snapped her fingers) and your grandfather followed soon after. Awful tragedy." Here Mrs. Manning paused to take out her handkerchief, and dabbed the corner of each of her eyes. A moment later, she put the handkerchief away and resumed her story.

"Now the question was, what to do with you? No mother, no father and now no grandparents. Someone had to take care of you, but whom? That's when Albus Dumbledore stepped in. He knew my family of course, who had all attended Hogwarts, and he knew of my particularly _delicate_ situation. I had married when your mother got older, Mr. Manning you know, not as old a family as yours but still pure-blood you know. He died unfortunately before we could have any children though. You Know Who and those awful wizarding wars! His family never thought much of me. Well they wouldn't you know, being a squib and all. Anyway, it became apparent that I couldn't continue to live in the wizarding world and would have to resort to the _Muggle_ world. Dumbledore of course knew my history with your family and suggested I take you in and raise you. I agreed, but I told Dumbledore that it would be on the condition that I raise you _my_ way. Now you know dear, I have nothing against magic of course, but being a squib meant it might be unpleasant for me to have a child running around threatening to hex me if it didn't get what it wanted. You can understand?"

Here Mrs. Manning finally paused. Ellie didn't know what to say. She could understand Mrs. Manning's point of view, but she also felt angry that Mrs. Manning had lied to her for so long. She was a witch! Her mother was one too, and her grandfather had been a wizard. No wonder the pictures in the photo album could move! They must be some kind of magic photos.

Ellie realised Mrs. Manning was expecting her to speak.

"I um, I understand why you didn't tell Mrs. Manning," she said. Mrs. Manning smiled.

"But," Ellie continued, "Now that I know, does this mean I'm going to Hogwarts to learn magic?"

Mrs. Manning sighed heavily and nodded.

"Apparently Dumbledore thinks it is in your best interests. He is a great wizard you know, and I have the utmost respect for great wizards, so I must comply with his wishes. You are to go to Hogwarts."

Ellie jumped off her seat, excited.

"Really? Oh thank you Mrs. Manning!" she cried, and flung her arms around Mrs. Manning's neck. She withdrew them a moment later, blushing. Mrs. Manning did not take kindly to displays of affection.

Mrs. Manning gave her a sickly kind of smile. It was obvious she did not approve, but at least she was not going to stop her from going.

"What do I need to bring?" Ellie asked.

Mrs. Manning took the envelope and pulled out another slip of paper.

"Here we are," Mrs. Manning said, and began to read down the list.

"Hmm, we'll need to go to Diagon Alley for all of this," she muttered.

"Diagon Alley?" asked Ellie.

"Yes Diagon Alley. Well, there's no time like the present. Finish up your breakfast and then we'll be off. There's a train to London in about an hour if I'm not mistaken, and I'm usually not."

Ellie wolfed down the rest of her breakfast and then ran upstairs to change into outdoor clothes. This day was shaping up to be the best birthday ever. Diagon Alley, here she comes!


	3. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter; I'm just borrowing some stuff.

**Chapter Three**

When Ellie got into bed that night, she didn't know how she could sleep. She had had such an exciting day.

When she and Mrs. Manning had arrived on the train in London, they walked through some streets until they came to an old looking pub. Mrs. Manning walked in and straight through until she came to a door leading outside into a small yard that contained some dustbins and not much else. There was another family, a man, a woman and a boy, standing in front of them though, facing a wall. The woman turned her head to them when she heard them coming out.

"Oh hello!" she said cheerfully. She looked down at Ellie.

"First year at Hogwarts too?" she asked in a kind voice to Ellie. Ellie nodded. She liked the look of this woman.

The woman laughed lightly and pointed to the boy.

"Jamie too," she said. Jamie gave Ellie a cheeky grin and said hello. Ellie liked the look of him too, and said hello back while the adults exchanged pleasantries.

"Ah, here we go," said the man, who had been introduced as "Mark Logan", and Ellie stared in amazement. A hole had appeared in the wall, and it was getting bigger and bigger until it was big enough for everyone to walk through. The Logan family waved goodbye as they walked off in one direction, and Mrs. Manning pulled Ellie in another direction.

"Now, first things first we'll need money. Muggle money won't do. Now, where is Gringotts again?"

A few minutes later and Ellie found herself and Mrs. Manning standing outside a huge white building. Standing at the door was a small, funny looking creature.

"Goblin," whispered Mrs. Manning to Ellie. "Awful creatures. Very good with money though," Mrs. Manning continued in a low voice as they walked up the steps to the door.

"Good morning!" Mrs. Manning said loudly and cheerfully to the goblin as they passed through the door. The goblin bowed to them. They found another door in front of them with two more bowing goblins. When they passed through these doors, after another cheery "Good morning to you!" from Mrs. Manning they found themselves standing in a large hall. There were goblins everywhere. Mrs. Manning looked mildly disgusted, but quickly masked this by plastering a very fake but pleasant smile on her face. Mrs. Manning steered Ellie towards a counter.

"Good morning!" Mrs. Manning said, in the same cheery tone she had used before. "We are here to make a withdrawal from Miss Eleanora _Winterbourne's_ safe," she said, putting a lot of emphasis on Winterbourne, as if she expected the goblin to be impressed by the name. The goblin did not seem to care.

"Do you have the key, Miss?" the goblin asked.

"Of course!" replied Mrs. Manning, fishing a small golden key out of her handbag.

The goblin stared at the key for a moment, and then nodded. He called another goblin over and muttered to him quickly. The other goblin nodded.

"Follow me," the new goblin said. Mrs. Manning and Ellie walked after him, Ellie looking from left to right in wonder at all the strange sights in this funny bank.

A few minutes later and they were all in a cart, hurtling through a maze of passages. Mrs. Manning tapped the goblin on the shoulder and asked if they could slow down.

"Sorry, one speed only," said the goblin.

Mrs. Manning sat back, looking very green in the face. Ellie thought this cart-ride was amazing. She was almost sorry when they whooshed to a stop. Mrs. Manning got out a little unsteadily. She had to hold on to Ellie's arm for support.

"Dear, oh dear," she muttered under her breath, and fanned herself with her handbag.

A small door was set into the wall. The goblin asked for the key, and Mrs. Manning gave it to him with a shaky hand. The goblin opened the door and stepped back. Mrs. Manning stepped inside and Ellie gingerly followed. When she saw the contents of the room, her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

Piled high, almost floor to ceiling, were mounds upon mounds of gold coins. There was also a pile of silver coins in a corner, and Ellie saw a patch of bronze in another corner.

"Is this all mine?" asked Ellie breathlessly.

"Oh yes. I told you the Winterbournes were a very prestigious family. You are all that is left and therefore all their wealth belongs to you," said Mrs. Manning. She began to scoop up a handful of coins and gestured to Ellie to open her bag.

"Here we go, this should do," she said, dumping the coins in her bag and walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Ellie called. Mrs. Manning turned around.

"Mrs. Manning, I had no idea! If I had known, I would have given you money to help pay for my keep. You've always talked about what a burden it is to have to pay for my food and clothes and things. Here," Ellie said, and began to scoop up more coins.

Mrs. Manning went red in the face.

"No dear, there's, ah, no need! Happy to do it you know!" she said, trying to stop Ellie from giving her a handful of gold coins.

The goblin, who had been waiting outside the door, scoffed.

"She already gets a pile of Galleons every month for your keep," the goblin said.

Ellie looked confused, and Mrs. Manning turned quickly and tried to shush the goblin. The goblin only smirked back.

"I've transferred them a couple of times myself. Likes to have the Galleons converted to Muggle money," the goblin continued.

Mrs. Manning laughed nervously, as Ellie looked at her, horrified.

"You mean all this time you've been _paid_ to look after me, and you've been making me feel guilty because I thought you spent your _own_ money on me?" Ellie asked incredulously.

Mrs. Manning laughed nervously again.

"Now child, let's not worry about it," she said, attempting to smile.

Ellie shook her head, disgusted. She dropped the handful of coins on to the floor and walked past Mrs. Manning and out of the room. Mrs. Manning followed and got back into the cart. When the goblin got back in after locking the door he made to hand the key to Mrs. Manning, but Ellie snatched it quickly.

"I think _I_ had better take this," she said, glaring at Mrs. Manning. Mrs. Manning looked flustered. The goblin continued to smirk.

Once back outside in the sunlight, Mrs. Manning seemed a lot more polite, Ellie thought. She kept asking her nicely (although through somewhat gritted teeth now and then) what she wanted to do next, and didn't drag her by the arm as she usually did. After a couple of hours, Ellie had gotten everything she needed for Hogwarts. Mrs. Manning suggested getting a burger somewhere in London before they went home. Ellie could tell Mrs. Manning was trying to appease her, but she agreed. It was rare that Mrs. Manning would allow junk food of any sort.

Mrs. Manning had not said much on the train journey home, and Ellie had been quiet too, thinking about Hogwarts. She couldn't wait to put on her new robes (_that's_ what those gown things were called!) and try out her wand. Mrs. Manning had told her sternly that she could not use her wand outside of Hogwarts. Ellie had been disappointed to hear this – there was still five whole weeks before term started! That seemed like forever.

Now Ellie was lying in her bed, these thoughts swirling around her head and she was wide-awake. She sat up suddenly, remembering something from yesterday. The diary she had found and the letters, she had not looked at them yet! It was something to do since she couldn't get to sleep.

Ellie slipped out of her bed and padded over to the wardrobe. She fished out the diary and the letters and then went back and plopped down on her bed. She tried to open the diary first, but to her dismay, she found it was locked. Perhaps there was a key in that old chest. Dare she go upstairs to find out? It seemed scary to go wandering about the attic in the middle of the night, but also very thrilling. She tiptoed to her door and opened it slowly. She peaked her head out and listened for Mrs. Manning. She heard a familiar snore coming from the room across the landing, signalling that Mrs. Manning was fast asleep. She debated what to do next. It would be dark in the attic and she didn't know if there was a light switch up there. She hadn't seen one yesterday anyway. She'd need a torch. She had a cheap toy one somewhere in the toy chest in her room so she went to go and find it.

It was slow work, as Ellie had to quietly empty out the toys until she found what she was looking for. Luckily, the torch still worked when Ellie tried it. Ellie felt very excited now. This was a real adventure!

She crept out of her room quietly and walked towards the staircase. She tiptoed up, holding her breath whenever a stair creaked. Mrs. Manning appeared to be a sound sleeper however, and didn't stir. Across the second landing and up the next stairs and Ellie had made it! The small beam from her torch cast a pale glow on whatever lay in front of it. Ellie thought it made everything seem eerie and mysterious. It was also quite scary.

Ellie found the chest from yesterday and began to rummage through it. She looked for a good five minutes, before reluctantly concluding that the key to the diary was not in the chest. Now what? Ellie swept the torch around her, but all she could see were sheets which, in the pale light, looked like ghosts. She jumped at first, and then laughed at herself for being so silly. Suddenly she heard a loud screech right in her ear and something brushed past her hair. Ellie froze for a second in fright, and then took to her heels and scrambled to the stairs. She shot down the first staircase and then across the landing to the next staircase. She tripped halfway down the second staircase and tumbled down to the bottom of the stairs. She was aware she'd probably woken up Mrs. Manning with the racket she had just made so she tore into her room, knocked off the light and leapt into bed. She was only just in time as she heard the floor in Mrs. Manning's room creaking. A moment later and she made out a head looking in her door. She crammed her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep, although her heart was pounding so fast that she was sure Mrs. Manning would guess she was really awake.

Mrs. Manning however was convinced that Ellie was asleep. What was that noise that woke her up then? A sudden terrifying thought struck her. Could it be burglars? Mrs. Manning froze in the middle of the landing, not sure what to do next. To her horror, she heard a padding sound on the carpet, as if someone was walking towards her. Something rubbed up against her legs and she shrieked. Then she heard a familiar sound, purring. It was just the cat!

"Oh dear," Mrs. Manning thought, her knees suddenly feeling very weak. "I'm too old for all of this."

Satisfied that the cat had probably caused the noise she had heard, she went back to her room and got back into bed. At least she hadn't woken up Eleanora, she thought to herself. She felt rather foolish. Fancy being scared of a cat!

Ellie had heard Mrs. Manning shriek, and instinctively she'd leapt out of bed and rushed to the door, but she stopped when she got there as she could make out the cat in the moonlight, rubbing herself against Mrs. Manning's legs. Phew! Mrs. Manning went back to her room, and Ellie closed her door softly and went back to her bed. Mrs. Manning probably thought it was the cat that had made the noise. But what had made the noise she had heard in the attic. That definitely wasn't any cat. Cat's don't' screech like that. Something had brushed her hair too. Ellie shuddered thinking about it again. Ellie puzzled over it for a long time, until she fell asleep. She couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation though. She was sure of one thing though, she would never go up to that attic in the middle of the night again!


	4. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Four: Welcome to Hogwarts  
**

Five weeks passed slowly, but finally it was 1 September and it was time for Ellie to go to Hogwarts. Ellie felt butterflies in her stomach when she got up early that morning. Her trunk was all packed and downstairs in the hall, ready to be loaded into the taxi Mrs. Manning had booked to take them to London. Mrs. Manning felt that it would be too awkward to manage the trunk between the two of them on a train.

Ellie had gone up to the attic twice more when she had found the chance (not in the middle of the night however) and hunted about for a possible key to the diary, but although she found a few more chests, she could not find any key. The second time she had been in the attic Mrs. Manning had come looking for her, and scolded her when she saw her coming out of the door leading to the attic stairs. The next time Ellie had managed to slip up to the second landing, she had discovered that Mrs. Manning had locked the door to the attic stairs. Now Ellie would not be able to go up there again. Ellie had never figured out what had caused the screeching sound she had heard up there, but eventually she concluded that it was best to forget about it and chalk it up to her hearing things because she had been over-excited.

Ellie had packed the diary and the letters into her trunk, as well as the photo album (the letters were mostly correspondence between her grandfather and his "dear cousin", Joseph Ramsey, or what looked like business letters. They were not very interesting). She wanted to keep them with her in case Mrs. Manning cleaned out her wardrobe while she was at Hogwarts. Ellie had also packed the photo of her mother from her bedside table.

The taxi was due at the house at eight o'clock. Mrs. Manning said it would take about two hours to drive into London to Kings Cross Station, where the Hogwarts Express was leaving for Hogwarts at eleven, and this would give them plenty of time in case anything happened that might cause a delay. Mrs. Manning appeared downstairs just after seven o'clock and they ate their breakfast together in silence. Just after eight o'clock there was a knock at the door – the taxi was here! Mrs. Manning told off the driver for being late, and then ushered Ellie out the door and into the taxi while the driver hauled the trunk into the boot of the car.

The drive to London was mostly silent. The taxi driver had tried to start up a conversation, but he had received such nasty glares from Mrs. Manning that he gave up. When they finally got to the train station, the driver hopped out and helped Ellie load her trunk onto a trolley and then, after being paid by Mrs. Manning, he gave Ellie a wink and then went back to his car.

There were many people in the train station. Ellie had a difficult time steering the trolley with her heavy trunk. She followed Mrs. Manning, who seemed to know where she was going. Mrs. Manning stopped suddenly, and Ellie almost ran into the back of her. She had to pull the trolley with all her strength to stop it mowing Mrs. Manning over.

"Here we are," Mrs. Manning announced. Ellie looked around. They were standing between platforms nine and ten. Which platform was she supposed to go to, nine or ten?

"Which platform Mrs. Manning?" Ellie asked.

"Platform nine and three-quarters," Mrs. Manning informed her. Ellie looked blankly at her. Platform nine and three what?

Mrs. Manning gestured to the divide between platforms nine and ten. She lowered her voice.

"Through there," she said. Ellie looked blankly at her again. Was she mad?

Mrs. Manning sighed impatiently and, keeping her voice low, explained.

"You have to walk though the divide. You can't be scared or you'll just crash into the wall. Your mother used to run through, said it helped doing it that way."

"Okay," said Ellie frowning, not sure if she really believed what Mrs. Manning had just said.

"Now dear," said Mrs. Manning, smiling sweetly at her, "Do have a good term. And mind you tell Dumbledore if he asks that I take very good care of you."

Ellie nodded and Mrs. Manning patted her on the shoulder.

"Now, off you go," Mrs. Manning told her.

Ellie turned nervously towards the divide, holding her breath. She let out a sigh of relief though when she noticed a boy who looked older than her making his way towards the divide with a trunk like hers. Instead of crashing into it, he disappeared straight through. Well, Mrs. Manning had been right after all. Ellie sprinted as fast as could with her heavy trolley towards the divide. She shut her eyes tightly just before she got to the divide. A part of her expected to crash into the wall, but when she opened her eyes again she was standing on a platform, and there was a red steam train in front of her. A sign said Hogwarts Express. Phew! She had made it.

Ellie looked at her watch. It was only half past ten; she was early. There were a few other students there too, getting on to the train. Ellie felt queasy all of a sudden. She had never been on a train alone before. She walked down the platform with her trolley and spied an empty compartment on the train. She attempted to heave her trunk up the steps but it was very heavy. Eventually she was almost in tears from frustration when a big tall boy came over and asked if she needed help. Ellie nodded, in awe of this tall boy. He smiled at her and helped her get the trunk into the compartment. Ellie noticed a shiny badge pinned to his front that said "Head Boy". He smiled at her again and then left.

Ellie heaved a sigh of relief. She was here now; next stop Hogwarts. She sat down in a corner of the compartment, waiting for the train to take off. A while later she saw a head looking through the door. It was the boy from Diagon Alley.

"Hello!" he said. "Remember me?"

Ellie nodded. The boy was now attempting to push his trunk into the compartment. Ellie jumped up to help, and between them, they managed it.

Panting, he flopped down on the seat opposite her.

"My name's Jamie by the way. Your's is Eleanora, right?"

"Right," Ellie said, "but please, call me Ellie."

Jamie laughed. "My real name is James," he said, rolling his eyes and then grinning. Ellie laughed at this.

Jamie knew a lot about Hogwarts. He had no brothers or sisters, but both his parents went there and so did his older cousin and they had all filled him in. He shared his knowledge with Ellie.

"There are four houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. My mum was in Ravenclaw and my dad was in Gryffindor. My cousin is in Ravenclaw. I don't mind what house I get into, as long as it's not Slytherin," Jamie said.

"Why, what's wrong with Slytherin?" Ellie asked.

"My cousin Jason says they're a nasty lot. My dad says there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin," Jamie said, shuddering.

Ellie didn't like the sound of that. She hoped she wouldn't be put into Slytherin either.

Ellie and James chatted all the way to Hogwarts. By the time they got there, Ellie felt more at ease. She hoped she and Jamie would be put into the same house.

When they got off the train, a big giant of a man called for all the first years to follow him. Ellie and Jamie stuck together. They had to get into boats and row across a lake to get to the school. The first view of the school was both magnificent and scary. It looked huge. How would Ellie ever find her way around it?

A while later and all the first year students stood together in the Entrance Hall of the school. Some were shaking, others laughing and teasing. Ellie and Jamie huddled together. A tall woman in green robes introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and informed them that it was time for them to be sorted into their houses, and called out instructions. They had to follow her into a great hall. There were five tables, four long ones that were lined with students, and a table at the top of the room that older wizards and witches were sitting at, their teachers probably. All eyes turned to look at the tiny first years following Professor McGonagall to the top of the room, just in front of the table with the teachers. Ellie noticed a small four-legged stool standing in front of them with a pointed hat on top. Professor McGonagall informed them that when she called out their names they were to sit on the stool and put the hat on. The hat would decide which house they were to be in.

Professor McGonagall unrolled a long piece of parchment and began reading names. One by one, students stepped forward and tried the hat on. Sometimes the hat would shout out a house straight away, other times it would take a longer time to decide. Every time the hat called out a decision everyone would cheer, but Ellie noticed that when someone was sorted into Slytherin, the cheering was not as loud at the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

"Logan, James!" Professor McGonagall called.

Jamie looked sick for a moment, and then whispered to Ellie," Well, here goes nothing!" He scooted over to the stool and sat down, placing the hat on his head.

Jamie sat like this for about 10 seconds. Ellie could tell he felt very nervous. Suddenly the hat cried out:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheered louder than the other tables as Jamie made his way to the table, red-faced. He gave Ellie a quick smile on the way. Ellie watched him go, feeling more nervous than ever. Before she would not have minded which house she got into (as long as it wasn't Slytherin), now she hoped she would get into Gryffindor.

Name after name was called and soon Ellie was standing by herself, the last first year left to be sorted. The person before her, Emily Welch, was sorted into "RAVENCLAW!", and now it was her turn. She felt incredibly nervous. Since she was the last person left, she felt that everyone in the entire hall must have been looking at her. Professor McGonagall called her name.

"Winterbourne, Eleanora!"

Hundreds of eyes were on Ellie at this moment, but one pair of eyes in particular was watching her more intently than any other.

Professor Severus Snape never paid much attention to sorting ceremonies, unless someone was sorted into Slytherin. As the head of Slytherin House, he took no interest in the students who got into other houses. They would be annoying him soon enough no doubt in his Potions class. Hearing the name "Winterbourne" being called out in Professor McGonagall's crisp voice however, grabbed his attention immediately. He sat up straight and stared at the scared looking girl walking towards the sorting hat. She was too far away to deduce if there was likeness, he concluded, but the name "Winterbourne" was so striking that he could not dismiss it. Snape watched the girl put on the hat with interest, half hoping the girl would be sorted into his own house.

Ellie put the hat on head, and heard a tiny voice in her ear.

"Hmm, yes, very interesting. Where to put you, where to put you? A sharp mind, good brains – plenty of courage. Hmm, a fierce sense of justice, oh my yes. Very interesting. So, where shall I put you?"

"Not Slytherin, please not Slytherin!" Ellie thought.

The hat seemed to read her thoughts.

"Not Slytherin? You could do well in Slytherin you know," the hat told her.

"Please not Slytherin!" Ellie pleaded.

"Hmm, you could do well in Ravenclaw too or Hufflepuff. Yes, indeed you could! How interesting!"

Ellie felt her stomach lurch. The hat was going to put her in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. At least it wasn't Slytherin, but it would mean she wouldn't be in Jamie's house.

The other students were watching Ellie being sorted with interest. No other first year had taken so long. Jamie had his fingers crossed that Ellie would be sorted into Gryffindor. Snape meanwhile was very interested at the length of time it was taking to sort Miss Winterbourne.

"Well, there's only one thing for it you know," said the hat in Ellie's ear. Ellie shut her eyes. Here it comes. Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff…

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat screamed to the entire hall.

Ellie opened her eyes suddenly, stunned but absolutely delighted. The students cheered and Jamie jumped off his seat and began clapping wildly as Ellie ran over to him, grinning madly. Jamie clapped his arm around her shoulder, eagerly introducing her to the other first year Gryffindors. Older Gryffindors patted her on the back and shouted cheery welcomes to her. Ellie recognised the kind boy with the "Head Boy" badge from the train as be leaned across the table and gave her a hearty handshake.

Snape winced as the hat announced Ellie was to be in Gryffindor. He wasn't fond of any house besides his own but Gryffindor was the worst of the lot.

After a huge feast, Ellie and Jamie followed the Head Boy (whose name was John Martin) to the Gryffindor common room. Ellie noticed in delight that the figures in the paintings on the wall moved like the pictures in her photo album, and they also talked too! The entrance to the common room was behind a painting of a fat woman, to whom they had to give a password to gain admittance. Ellie committed the password John told them (periwinkle) to memory.

When Ellie went to bed that night, she felt like she was floating on air. She had already made a friend in Jamie, and everyone else in Gryffindor seemed really nice too. She also remembered the patch from her mother's robes. Her mother had been a Gryffindor too! Ellie could not wait for the start of lessons the next day, when she could finally try out magic for real.

While Ellie contented herself with these pleasant thoughts, in another part of the castle Severus Snape was sitting down contemplating Ellie and her history. Who was she? The Winterbournes had once been a fine family, but their numbers had dwindled greatly, and as far as he knew, only one particular branch bearing the name "Winterbourne" was still in existence. Was this Eleanora Winterbourne related to this Winterbourne family, or was it merely a coincidence that she happened to share the name of one of the oldest wizarding families in Great Britain? He would have to find out somehow. Tomorrow morning his first lesson was Potions with first year Slytherins and Gryffindors. He would have to pay close attention to Miss Eleanora Winterbourne.


	5. Potions Class

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Five: Potions Class**

Ellie was up bright and early the next morning. She put on her robes eagerly, and stared in admiration at her reflection in the mirror. A new crest on her robes advertised the fact that she was a member of Gryffindor house. Ellie felt on top of the world. There were four other first year girls in her dormitory too – Helen Jones, Amy Mittle, Joanna Lake and Tanya Sloane. The five girls left their dormitory together and went down the steps into the common room.

Jamie was already here, as were a mixture of students from other years. Jamie rushed over to Ellie. They chatted excitedly about their first lesson. An older boy with flaming red hair asked what their first lesson was. When he heard it was potions he laughed.

"Well you'd better watch out then. Snape teaches potions," the boy said. Jamie's face fell, but Ellie was confused. Jamie explained it to her.

"I've heard about Snape from my cousin. Jason says he's a right git. He's head of Slytherin house and he always gives them special treatment. He hates the other houses, especially Gryffindor. I forgot he taught potions!"

Ellie began to protest, saying surely a teacher wouldn't practice such blatant bias, but the older boy nodded his head.

"'Fraid so. Don't be surprised if he takes 5 points off Gryffindor if you breathe the wrong way. The man's a total pillock."

"Which one was Snape anyway? Was he at the feast?" asked Jamie.

"Did you notice the bloke with long black hair and really pale skin?" the older boy asked.

Ellie and Jamie both nodded.

"That's Snape," the boy told them.

"Charlie!" a voice called. The boy waved at his friends and turned to leave. He turned back to Ellie and Jamie suddenly though and said, "By the way, my name's Charlie Weasley. See you later!"

After breakfast in the Great Hall, the first year Gryffindors attempted to find their way to Potions class. There were ten of them – five boys and five girls. They walked together in a group, chatting about Snape.

"I heard he turns you into a snail if you hand your homework up late!" proclaimed a small boy named Alex. Ellie wanted to scoff at this, but remembering what Charlie and Jamie had said about Snape made her wonder if it really was true after all.

"I heard he's really a vampire!" whispered Helen. Ellie shuddered. Now that definitely could _not_ be true. Then again, he was awfully pale…

"But so am I," she thought to herself, "and I'm not a vampire."

She heaved a sigh of relief at this, glad she was not about to go to a class taught by a vampire, but then an awful sentence floated into her head.

"_Of course, who knows what you are. No one knows what your father was."_

Ellie gulped. What if she was a vampire, or part vampire? She had very pale skin after all! If Snape was really a vampire and he was so pale, then maybe she could be a vampire too! That would be awful!

Ellie tormented herself with these terrible thoughts as she followed her classmates down into the dungeons to where the Potions class was held. Outside the door, a few other first years were standing around. From the crest on the front of their robes, Ellie knew they were Slytherins.

"Well hello there, _Gryffindors_," a skinny boy with black hair said.

The rest of the Slytherin group sniggered, as if the boy had just said something incredibly clever.

"Hello," answered Jamie, but not in a friendly tone.

"Let's just go inside," muttered Amy. "We don't want to get into any fights with them. Snape would eat us for breakfast."

The Gryffindors all went inside and sat down on one side of the room. The Slytherins came in a minute later and sat down on the other side of the room. The skinny boy from outside began to speak loudly about how worried his parents were about all the mudbloods Hogwarts was accepting these days. Ellie did not know what the word "mudblood" meant, but she could tell it was a nasty word from the way the boy was saying it, as well as from the reaction from the other Gryffindors. Amy and another boy, Stephen, went red, and Chris, another Gryffindor boy, and Jamie looked furious.

The last Gryffindor boy, Thomas, stood up, his fists balled.

"Come over here and say that!" he shouted.

The Slytherin boy looked scornfully at him, and then stood up. A Slytherin girl sitting at the back of the class shushed them both.

"Professor Snape is coming!" she hissed. Both boys sat down, glaring at each other.

Ellie recognised the tall dark man from the feast last night as he swept into the room, his black robes billowing about him. He walked up to his desk and turned around to face the class. Ellie noticed that close up he looked even paler, if that were possible. His long black greasy hair hung limply around his face. His eyes were black and cold. He wore a stony expression as he swept his gaze around the class, taking in each face. His eyes rested a moment longer on Ellie than anyone else, but nobody noticed this.

Snape started the class by taking the register. Ellie learned that the Slytherin boy was called Devin Farley. She suddenly remembered him from the sorting last night. The hat had bellowed out "SLYTHERIN" after only being on his head a second. Ellie's name was the last on the register.

"Eleanora Winterbourne," Snape said, slowly, staring right at Ellie. She swallowed before uttering a feeble "here". His stare made her feel very uncomfortable, as if he was reading her thoughts at that very moment.

Standing in front of her, Snape concluded that Eleanora Winterbourne did indeed bear a striking resemblance to Claudia Winterbourne. Her eyes were unmistakable. Oh yes, he knew those eyes well. His heart used to skip a beat when they would gaze at him, and now here they were, staring up at him with a frightened expression. This time the eyes belonged to someone else though. Snape had to look away. He was surprised, and ashamed, to find that he found this girl's frightened stares unsettling.

Snape looked past the girl, focusing on the row behind her. He began to speak to the first years about Potions, outlining his expectations, and also making it clear that he didn't expect many of them to meet his standards. The Gryffindors all felt uncomfortable if he turned his gaze in their direction, as he frequently did. The Slytherins just smirked for the most part, although one or two shared the uncomfortable looks of the Gryffindors.

Snape finished his speech and set the class to work. They were to divide into pairs and brew a simple potion that would cure boils. Snape set this potion for the first potions lesson of the first years every year. He sat down at his desk, surveying each group from his seat. As before, his gaze rested with Ellie longer than with anyone else. She and her partner seemed to be working well, Snape concluded. From where he was sitting, he could see that their potion was of the right colour and consistency, mainly due to Ellie's clear instructions to her partner. Snape could not help smirking to himself at this. It seemed very amusing to him that this girl should have a natural talent for potions.

On the Slytherin side of the table, everyone seemed to be working away too. Devin however, had a nasty surprise for the Gryffindors. He watched Snape carefully, and when he was sure that Snape was not looking in their direction he took a wizard cracker out of his bag, and flung it at the Gryffindors. He didn't care who it hit, although that boy, Thomas, who had stood up to fight him, or that other boy, James, who had said hello to him would be perfect.

It went better than Devin could have imagined. The cracker landed right in Ellie and Jamie's cauldron and exploded. Ellie and Jamie, who could see the cracker was about to explode, had a chance to duck and shield themselves from the splatter, but Thomas and Alex, who had been working behind them, were drenched in the potion. Almost immediately huge red boils sprang up on their faces. The boys cried out in pain.

Snape had seen the cracker whizzing through the air. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to guess where the cracker had come from. Devin had a very satisfied smirk on his face, while the rest of the Slytherins were almost rolling around the floor with laughter. Snape got up and walked over to the two Gryffindor boys. He told Amy and Helen, who were working beside them, to escort the boys to the hospital wing. He then turned on Ellie and Jamie.

To admit that a wizard cracker had caused the accident would mean finding fault with students from his own house, something Snape never did. His only option was to blame Ellie and Jamie.

"You two, clean up this mess you've made," he sneered.

Ellie leapt up indignantly.

"Mess _we've_ caused? Those idiots (Ellie waved at the Slytherins) threw something into our cauldron!" she said angrily.

Snape was amused at the fiery look in Ellie's eyes. He had seen those eyes look at him like that before.

"5 points from Gryffindor for your insolence, Miss _Winterbourne_," Snape said.

"What? I like that! Come on! You _know_ they caused this mess!" Ellie yelled. Jamie pulled at her, trying to get her to sit back down, although he felt furious himself.

Snape looked at her for a moment without speaking, and then his mouth curled into a thin, sneering smile.

"Detention, Miss Winterbourne. My office, eight o'clock this evening," he said.

Ellie made to spring forward with more angry protests, but Jamie managed to hold her back and haul her back onto her seat, hissing to her that she was just making things worse. The Slytherins were in stitches at this point. Ellie was absolutely seething with anger at Snape's unfair treatment of the class. She begrudgingly helped Jamie clean up their work area and mop up the floor, as the Slytherins looked on, sniggering. At the end of the class, Snape asked each group to leave a sample of their potion on his desk. Ellie and Jamie, whose potion had been absolutely destroyed, had nothing to hand up.

"Pity. Zero marks for both of you. You shall both have to work hard to make up for that," Snape said. Ellie felt like giving Snape a piece of her mind, but she resisted, knowing she'd probably just lose Gryffindor more points. She walked out the classroom with the remaining Gryffindors, her fists shaking in anger.

Snape recognised the unfairness of the situation. He admitted to himself that Ellie and Jamie's potion had looked to be the best in the class before the wizard cracker ruined it. He would have been furious too in their situation. He noted Ellie's obvious anger at the injustice of what had happened, although she managed to contain herself this time. Watching her leave, an image of Claudia Winterbourne flashed into his head, walking in a similar fashion, her fists shaking in anger after a Slytherin girl deliberately knocked her cauldron over, sending her potion everywhere. The potion's master at the time, Professor Slughorn, genuinely had not seen the incident take place, and had to award Claudia no marks. She had been absolutely livid at the time. Snape again had to turn his gaze away from Ellie, finding himself feeling unsettled at her image for the second time that day.

When Ellie and Jamie got back to the Gryffindor common room after morning lessons were over Ellie had calmed down somewhat, although she was still angry. The other Gryffindor first years were angry too. They had heard that Thomas and Alex would have to stay in the hospital wing overnight. Amy and Helen said the boys had both looked awful by the time they had found the hospital wing.

"We'll have to pay them back somehow," said Chris.

Charlie Weasley had just come into the common room with some of his friends. He noticed the angry looking group of first years.

"What's up?" he asked.

Jamie explained, and Charlie shook his head.

"Bloody typical!" he said.

Ellie suddenly felt guilty. She had lost the house 5 points.

"Sorry I lost Gryffindor points," she began. "I just got so angry…"

Charlie waved his hand at her.

"Don't worry about it. If by the end of the day nobody else from Gryffindor has lost any points from Snape I'll eat my broomstick!"

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Ellie. She enjoyed her other classes, particularly Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. If only she didn't have that rotten detention with Snape later that evening. She had not seen him since the morning's potions lesson. He wasn't in the Great Hall during lunch. When she and Jamie walked in at dinnertime though there he was, sitting at the end of the top table. He looked up the moment she came in, and Ellie could swear he smirked at her. In that moment, she felt that she hated him. Ellie had never hated anyone before, but Snape was such a horrible person she couldn't help it.

She sat down with her back to Snape with Jamie at the Gryffindor table. As they were eating, Ellie softened a bit. She didn't really _hate_ Snape, but she did think he was a really nasty person. She hoped her detention with him that evening wouldn't last long. The thought of being in a room alone with him gave her the creeps.


	6. Detention

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing Hogwarts, Snape and a few other characters for a while for my own nefarious purposes.

**Chapter Six: Detention**

It was almost eight o'clock and Ellie was making her way to Snape's dungeon office. The dungeons seemed creepier at this time of night than they had been earlier that day, but maybe that was because she was surrounded by friends then, and now she was going to face Snape alone. A couple of times during dinner she had felt that someone was staring at her, and when she looked around she spotted Snape looking at her. The second time they made eye contact and each turned away hastily. Ellie didn't dare to look behind her again in case the same thing happened.

Now though, she was going to spend possibly a few hours under his gaze (Charlie had warned her that Snape's detentions could last until midnight, depending on his mood). She shuddered involuntarily at the thought. There was something very creepy about him. His eyes were so cold, almost inhuman. She prayed that he was in a good mood so she could leave early, and had already resolved to be on her best behaviour and bite her tongue if needs must. It just wasn't worth going a round with Snape. He was a teacher with no sense of fair play – he had the upper hand.

She reached Snape's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter," she heard a voice call from the other side. She opened the door and walked in.

The room was dimly lit, and shadows enveloped the end of the room, making it impossible to see. When her eyes adjusted, Ellie was startled at the sight in front of her. Snape's office was lined with jars containing revolting looking animal parts and plants. One jar contained something so particularly disgusting that Ellie felt a dry heave coming on. She looked away quickly, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath.

"Miss Winterbourne," said a voice as a shape emerged from the shadows. Snape stood towering before her. For some reason, the dim light made him look even taller.

"You're late," he added.

"I am not!" Ellie cried indignantly, and then clapped her hand over her mouth. She would really have to do something about that impulsive tongue of hers.

Snape merely sneered at her and gestured to a clock on the wall. The minute hand on the clock was just to the right of the 12. Ellie glared back at him. She could only have been late by about 30 seconds. Ellie felt a now familiar sensation taking over. _Hate_. At this moment in time, she _hated_ this man who was standing in front of her, smirking at her. It took all her self-control not to smack him across the face.

"My apologies, Professor," she said, hoping it would smooth over her previous outburst. She didn't want to give him any reason to deduct more points from Gryffindor.

"Sit down," Snape told her, gesturing to a seat in front of his desk. He walked around the desk and sat in his own seat. Ellie did as she was told. Snape stared at her for a few moments. Ellie felt extremely uncomfortable. It was that same stare that made her feel that he was reading her thoughts. She suddenly wondered if wizards could do that. Was he really reading her mind right now?

"Miss Winterbourne, you have an unusual name," Snape suddenly said, snapping Ellie out of her somewhat horrifying thoughts.

Ellie was confused by this statement. Snape continued however.

"I once heard of an Auror with the Ministry of Magic by the name Jonas Winterbourne. A relative of yours?"

Ellie didn't know what an "Auror" was, but Mrs. Manning had mentioned that her father had worked for the Ministry of Magic before he married her grandmother.

"My grandfather," Ellie replied. Snape nodded, considering this information. There was no doubt about it then. When he had last heard of Jonas Winterbourne he had only one child. This girl must be Claudia's daughter.

The realisation hit him like a blow to the gut. He felt the sudden urge to smash something. That wretched girl was still sitting in front of him though. He could tell her to go, but he had a reputation to uphold. He then stood up and walked around the desk.

"That cauldron you and your associate defaced," Snape began, and was amused at the indignant glare in Ellie's eye. He wondered if she would start protesting again, but she remained silent.

"I want you to clean it, without magic," he told her, smiling smugly at her.

"Fine," she muttered.

"What was that, Miss Winterbourne?" Snape asked.

Ellie sighed.

"Yes, Professor Snape," Ellie said, inwardly wishing she could throw the cauldron at his head.

Snape smirked at her and then returned to his desk and sat down.

Ellie worked for an hour and a half, scrubbing the inside of the cauldron, trying desperately to get the congealed potion mixture to shift. Eventually, it started to break up and dissolve. By ten o'clock, the inside of the cauldron was sparkling.

"I'm done Professor," Ellie said.

Snape looked up from the parchment he had been reading. He stood up and went over to examine the cauldron. He was satisfied and told her she could go. Ellie headed gratefully to the door, but stopped when Professor Snape called out to her.

"You will have to try and control your temper in my class in future Miss Winterbourne. I doubt your mother will be pleased to know you received a detention on your first day at Hogwarts," he said to her, a smirk on his face.

Ellie turned and looked at him, the mention of her mother like a sting. She took a breath, composing herself and replied.

"My mother is _dead_ Professor Snape," she said in small voice, and then turned and walked out of the room.

Snape sat down on his chair heavily, a look of shock on his face. _Dead_. She was dead?

Ellie returned to the Gryffindor common room feeling shaky. The comment about her mother, complete with that loathsome smirk had rattled her. Ellie wondered for a moment if Snape had known all along that her mother was dead. It was probably just like him to make her feel awful by mentioning her mother. Ellie felt the sudden urge to cry, but she resisted. She wouldn't let that, what was it Jamie called him, that _git_ get to her like this. He'd probably laugh into his cocoa if he knew he had upset her, and probably broadcast it to his slimly Slytherin pets too. Oh, she hated him right now!

Snape sat at his desk, his head resting on his hands. Claudia dead? When had this happened? Why didn't he know? Well of course, the answer to that last question was obvious – because he had put her out of his mind and never bothered to look up her family since. And now he had that bothersome brat in his classes whom he would have to look at everyday. Almost Claudia's mirror image, just younger. Snape didn't want to think about what Ellie would look like in a few years. Probably Claudia's carbon copy! Wouldn't that be wonderful? The exact double of a woman he desperately wanted to forget would be haunting him for the next seven years.

Snape found himself wondering about Ellie's father, although he tried not to. He felt anger rising inside of him at the thought of Claudia having a child with someone. He didn't know who the someone was, but he knew he hated him. He had half a mind to outright ask the little brat, but no, he thought, calming himself, that would never do.

Strange that the child has the last name of her mother and not her father, Snape thought to himself. Probably Jonas Winterbourne's idea. Can't have the old name die out, now can they. He remembered Claudia had felt her father's parents had disliked her because she had been born a girl and not a boy, and there was no one left to carry on the family name. Snape suddenly smirked at the thought that old Jonas was probably horrified when his daughter gave birth to a girl. Still no other male heirs to hand the name on to. Unless of course the brat had a brother…

Eventually Snape left his office and went to his own living quarters, resolving to put Claudia out of his mind. It would just get him angrier and angrier thinking about it. Still, he was stuck teaching that brat, but now he was glad she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin. He would make sure Ellie knew exactly how he felt about people with the name "Winterbourne" before the term was out.


	7. The Fight

**Author's Notes: **Aww, I got some reviews! Thanks, you made my day!

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Seven: The Fight**

When Ellie got up the following day, she wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as she had been the morning before. Memories of the detention with Snape plagued her as she put on her robes and went down to the common room to meet Jamie.

Again, Jamie was already there, eager to hear how her detention had gone. They went over to a secluded corner by a window and sat down.

"Well?" Jamie asked.

"It was awful," Ellie replied. "He asked me about my grandfather, he knew him or something, and then I had to clean that cauldron from yesterday. It took ages. He made out again that what happened was our fault. I wanted to hit him!"

Jamie looked at her, worried but also with respect.

"You didn't actually _hit _him, did you?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

Ellie laughed at the expression on his face.

"Of course I didn't! Do you really think I'd be sitting here this morning if I did? He'd probably turn me into a toad and put me into one of his jars," Ellie said, shuddering at the last part.

Jamie looked confused at what she had said, so Ellie explained about the strange jars Snape kept in his office. Jamie shuddered too as Ellie described them.

"Ugh! Figures he'd be into stuff like that though," said Jamie.

"He said something else too, about my mother," Ellie said.

Ellie had told Jamie that her mother was dead on the train journey to Hogwarts. Jamie had felt awful when she told him. Imagine not having a mother. It seemed terrible to him.

"He said that I should behave in his class, because my mother would be upset to know I'd got a detention on my first day. It was the way he said it though, like it was a personal insult, not just a comment."

Jamie began to fume.

"You said he asked about your granddad, yeah?" Jamie asked. Ellie nodded.

"I bet he knew then, about your mum, and he just wanted to upset you!" Jamie exclaimed, anger rising steadily inside him.

"I wondered that too," admitted Ellie, the urge to cry suddenly hitting him again.

Jamie noticed that there were tears forming in Ellie's eyes. This made him angrier than ever on the inside, but he tried to calm down in front of Ellie. He put his arm around her.

"Don't let that…" Jamie began, pausing to find the appropriate words.

"… that lousy stupid idiotic _git_ get to you. That's just what he wants," said Jamie. Ellie sobbed and brushed a stray tear from her eye.

"I know you're right, but he just makes me so angry! What did I ever do to him?" Ellie said, another sob escaping from her throat.

Jamie thought about it for a moment, and then an intriguing idea suddenly occurred to him. He sat up straight and faced Ellie.

"You said you looked a bit like your mum, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ellie answered slowly, confused.

"I bet Snape knew her and he asked her out or something, and she told him to jump off a cliff!" Jamie said triumphantly. Ellie looked at him, horrified at the thought of Snape asking her mum out. Jamie's wide grin began to fade.

"Well, I just mean you can imagine someone as greasy and slimy as Snape fancying someone like your mum. She must have been a right looker if she looked like you," Jamie explained, and then suddenly went red as he realised exactly what he had said.

"Well, what I mean is, um, your mum right, she was probably a nice person and…" Jamie began in an agitated voice, but he couldn't think of a way to finish his sentence without making it worse.

Ellie was blushing furiously. Had Jamie really just revealed that he thought she was pretty? She felt as embarrassed as he looked. His desperate attempts to cover up what he inadvertently revealed however made her laugh.

"Just forget it," she said, breaking out into a big grin. Jamie shot her one of his cheeky looking grins back and they both laughed.

"Let's just go and get some breakfast. I'm starving!" said Jamie.

When they reached the Great Hall and went inside Ellie found herself automatically looking up to the staff table to see if Snape was there. She spotted him sitting at the end of the table. Just like yesterday, he seemed to sense when she had come into the room and looked up at her, but this time he quickly looked back down at his food. Ellie was confused by this action, but at least he wasn't smirking at her again.

The rest of the day went well, almost. Ellie enjoyed her classes and received a lot of praise from her teachers. The Gryffindors had some classes with the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs and everyone seemed to get along quite well. Occasionally the Slytherins would be mentioned, and it seemed the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs disliked them as much as the Gryffindors did.

The last class of the day was double potions with the Slytherins. Thomas and Alex had returned from the hospital wing at lunchtime as good as new. Chris brought up the subject again of paying the Slytherins back for their prank the previous day.

"We can't let them just get away with it!" said Chris.

"But we'll be the ones who get into trouble if we try something in potions!" protested Amy.

Jamie spoke up.

"Amy's right. I want to get back at them too, but you know what Snape's like. We'll have to wait for some other opportunity. Snape's just itching to take points off Gryffindors."

There were murmurs of agreement and Chris grudgingly backed down.

"Fine, but we have to get them back some time," he said, and Jamie nodded to him.

When the Gryffindors reached Snape's classroom Devin was waiting outside with some of his Slytherin cronies. He marched up to Ellie.

"How was your detention?" he asked, a smug grin on his face.

"Shut up Farley!" Jamie said. Devin turned to Jamie.

"Defending your girlfriend, Logan?" he sneered.

Despite all Jamie's talk about waiting for the right opportunity, he snapped.

He shoved Devin away, into the group of Slytherins. Devin immediately struck out and punched Jamie in the mouth, causing his lip to bleed.

Jamie automatically raised his fist, but as he was about to strike Devin back, a strong hand grabbed his arm. Annoyed, Jamie turned to tell whomever it was to get off, but was horrified to see it was Snape.

The other students had not seen or heard Snape approaching, they were so engrossed with the fight between Devin and Jamie. The Gryffindors shared Jamie's horror struck expression when they saw him. The Slytherins couldn't believe their luck.

"20 points from Gryffindor for fighting in the corridors," said Snape coolly, letting go of Jamie's arm. He then began to walk into the classroom, his robes swishing around him. Ellie couldn't believe it. He was letting the Slytherins get away with it _again_, after another Gryffindor student had been injured. Ellie felt this injustice more personally than the previous day's however, as Jamie had been sticking up for her. Just as Jamie had done a moment ago, she snapped.

"Are you joking?" she shouted at him. Snape stopped, paused a moment and then whirled around and stalked right up to her.

"Excuse me?" he hissed, fixing his cold eyes on hers. She didn't flinch, but looked straight back with her own fiery stare.

"Look at him!" she yelled, gesturing to Jamie's lip, which had begun to bleed profusely. "How do you think he got like that? Don't pretend you didn't see what happened! You grabbed Jamie just after that weasel (she pointed at Devin) punched him in the face! You're not honestly gonna let him get away with that are you, just because he's in Slytherin? You _always_ turn a blind eye to whatever trouble Slytherins cause because they're in your house. It's not fair! "

Snape suddenly wished he could turn Ellie into a fly so he could swat her, hard. He had had hotheaded and insolent students before, but no student had ever had the guts to accuse him like this and glare at him with such contempt before. He swallowed slowly, angry to find she was yet again making him feel uncomfortable. Seeing _those_ eyes looking at him so venomously felt like a knife through his chest. Suddenly he found himself hating this child intensely for stirring up such raw feelings again. He glanced away, knowing that if he kept up this staring contest he would end up doing something he would regret later.

"50 points from Gryffindor for such _appalling_ insolence Miss Winterbourne," he snarled, and then turned to Jamie.

"Go to the hospital wing," he spat, and then stormed into the classroom. The Slytherins followed, some turning to grin smugly at the Gryffindors before entering the classroom. The Gryffindors stood outside, unsure. Blood was spilling out of Jamie's lip and dribbling down his chin on to his robes. Ellie was standing rooted to the spot, shaking with anger. _70 points_. Gryffindor had just lost 70 points while Slytherin continued to do whatever they liked.

"Get into the classroom!" Snape barked from inside.

"Go on," Jamie said to his friends. "I'll meet you later in the common room."

"I'll go with you," said Ellie.

"But Ellie, Snape didn't say you could!" cried Helen.

"I don't care. I'll end up losing us more points if I have to sit in front of that slimy git for the next two hours," Ellie replied.

The others shrugged their shoulders and went into the classroom, hoping Snape wouldn't come down hard on them. Jamie looked at Ellie and shook his head.

"How are we supposed to last seven years with the likes of Devin Farley and Snape? This is only our second day!" he said, somewhat unclear because of his bleeding lip.

"Come on, let's go find this hospital wing," Ellie said, taking Jamie's arm.

When the Gryffindor first years got back to their common room, they found Ellie and Jamie waiting for them.

"Snape asked where you were," Amy told Ellie. "He looked dead annoyed when Helen said you'd gone with Jamie to the hospital wing."

"Did he take off any more points?" asked Ellie.

"No, thank goodness. Can you believe it? 70 points!" said Alex.

Ellie felt very guilty. 50 of those points were because of her.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper," she said. The others protested immediately.

"Are you kidding? The look on Snape's face when you talked back to him! It was well worth it!" said Thomas.

Ellie chuckled as she remembered the shocked look in Snape's eyes when he had whirled around to face her after she shouted at him.

"Well, I hope the others see it that way," she said.

The first years soon found out exactly what the other Gryffindors thought.

"Is it true you called Snape on always favouring the Slytherins?" a fifth year Gryffindor asked Ellie as soon as he came through the portrait entrance with some of his classmates.

"Yeah," replied Ellie, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Two girls from Ravenclaw were down in the dungeons getting some stuff out of the student stores for McGonagall and they heard shouting. They came along in time to hear you telling Snape off! So it's really true then?"

Ellie nodded.

"Bloody brilliant!" the fifth year said, and smacked her on the back, grinning. The other fifth years offered similar praise.

"But I lost Gryffindor 50 points!" Ellie said, stunned that they were taking it so well.

The fifth year group seemed to sober up at this. Another boy grinned suddenly and said, "Well, I guess some of us will just have to be extra good for the next few days to make up for it. I guess it won't kill me to actually hand up my Charms homework on time for once!"

As more Gryffindors streamed into the common room Ellie found herself being called on to tell the story of what happened with Snape, with the help of Jamie and some of the other first years now and then. The Gryffindors roared with laughter as Ellie and Jamie role-played the scene, with Jamie in the role of Snape. Jamie hammed it up for all he was worth, swishing his robes about and giving everyone long, piercing stares. By the time everyone left the common room for dinner, most of the Gryffindors felt Snape's telling off was well worth 50 points.

The Gryffindors walked en-masse into Great Hall for dinner. Several pointed at Snape sitting up at the staff table and sniggered. Some playfully swished their robes as Jamie had done during his imitation of Snape. Snape noticed this behaviour and his eyes narrowed. He was almost positive the Gryffindor students were making fun of him. He searched the stream of students and quickly found who he was looking for – Ellie. He saw that she and her little associate seemed to be the centre of attention, with many Gryffindors slapping her on the back before sitting down. Students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff even got up to speak to her for a few moments.

"Lap it up now Winterbourne," Snape thought to himself, "Because you won't be so happy when I'm done with you."

After dinner, Ellie left the Great Hall with Jamie. As soon as they stepped out of the hall, Snape stepped out in front of them. They both started in surprise.

"I'd like a word with you Miss Winterbourne, _alone_," he said, glaring at Jamie as he emphasised the word "alone".

Jamie looked helplessly at Ellie, but she nodded to him to signal it was okay.

"I'll see you back at the common room," he told her, and walked off, sticking out his tongue at Snape's back as he left, causing Ellie to stifle a giggle.

"Follow me," Snape told Ellie, and began to walk away quickly. Ellie almost had to jog to keep up with him. She stayed about two paces behind him. She realised that Snape was leading her to his office. Just what she needed; those creepy jars again.

When they got to Snape's office Snape told her to take a seat, and then sat at his desk, just as he had done the previous evening during detention.

"Miss Winterbourne," Snape began, staring at her coldly, "may I ask why you were not in my potions class this afternoon?"

Ellie let out a sigh. She knew she was in the wrong as far as that was concerned. She just hoped he wouldn't take any more points off Gryffindor.

"I wasn't there because I went with Jamie to the hospital wing," she replied in an even tone.

Snape raised his eyebrows.

"I see. Did I give you permission to accompany Mr. Logan?" he asked slowly.

"No," Ellie admitted. Snape's lips curled into a small smile.

"No?" he repeated.

"He needed someone to go with him," Ellie stated.

"Then why did you not _ask_ for my permission?" Snape asked.

Ellie considered this for a moment.

"If I had asked, would you have granted me permission?" she asked, a tone that said they both knew what the answer to that question was.

Snape paused, half-smiling to himself at this question. He didn't bother answering and moved on.

"I am afraid I shall have to punish you for your truancy Miss Winterbourne," he told her, expecting another sudden outburst. He was surprised when she sat still and looked calmly at him.

"I shall inform my last potions class of each day that until the end of term, they do not have to clean up after themselves. Every day after dinner, you are to report to the potions classroom and clean it up, _without_ magic. Perhaps after spending so much time in the classroom, you will remember to turn up for your lessons in future," he said.

"Okay," Ellie said. Again, Snape was surprised at her calm demeanour.

"It may also teach you not to make such a mess, the next time you do manage to show up for my lessons," he added, smirking. He noticed it immediately. Ellie gripped the edge of her chair and an angry glint flashed in her eyes, but she didn't lose her temper, she merely took a deep breath, which seemed to calm her down.

"Yes sir," she replied.

Snape looked at her for a moment longer and then dismissed her. As Ellie got up and left the room, Snape was forced to acknowledge a grudging respect for how she had handled the meeting. He was prepared to take more points off Gryffindor if she had thrown another tantrum. As she walked out of the room, her shoulders back and her head held high, he couldn't help but think to himself that the brat certainly seemed to be her mother's daughter. That made him both respect her and detest her even more.


	8. The Potions Master and the Brat

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter characters and settings are the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Eight: The Potions Master and the Brat **

When Ellie's classmates first heard about Ellie's punishment for skipping Snape's class, they felt it was very harsh. Jamie had even suggested going to Professor McGonagall about it. Ellie shushed them all however, explaining that she was prepared to carry out the punishment.

"I was wrong after all. I shouldn't have skipped the class. He had a right to punish me," Ellie admitted.

"Yeah well, I still think he's a prat," Jamie said. Ellie laughed.

"So do I," she said, grinning.

The Slytherins were in raptures when they heard about Ellie's punishment. Two Slytherin groups had the last class of a day in the potions classroom – the first years and some sixth years. They resolved to make as much mess as possible on those days to pay that stupid Gryffindor out for her treatment of Snape.

Snape himself looked forward to making the brat suffer. He had quickly learned how to push her buttons. A few well-placed comments about her Gryffindor cohorts seemed to do the trick. By the time he was finished with her she would be sorry that she and her blasted eyes had ever come to Hogwarts.

The following day classes seemed to pass by quickly. The first year Gryffindors had no potions class that day, much to Ellie's relief. She would be seeing enough of Snape that night. Sure enough after dinner when she went down into the dungeons to the potions classroom, Snape was standing outside waiting for her. As she approached him, Helen's comments about Snape before their first potions lesson flashed into her mind. In the poorly lit dungeon corridor, the tall pale man in black certainly did look very much like a vampire. Without realising it, she looked up at him in awe. _Could_ he be a vampire then? Maybe that's why he favoured the dungeons (his classroom and office were situated there after all). Vampires weren't supposed to like the light. Maybe that's what made them so pale? Snape was certainly pale – his skin was almost white.

"_So is yours_," a voice whispered in her head. Her stomach lurched at this, as once again she recalled Mrs. Manning's comment about no one knowing _what_ her father was, and consequently what _she_ was.

Snape gave Ellie one of his coldest stares as she walked towards him. When she stopped in front of him however, he began to frown. She was looking at him very strangely, as if she had just discovered something very fascinating about him. He was glad when the look faded from her face and she cast her eyes towards the floor, now a look of confusion evident in her expression.

Snape cleared his throat. Ellie looked lost for a moment, but then quickly looked at him.

"After you Miss Winterbourne," he said, gesturing to the open door of the classroom. She walked in and he followed, shutting the door behind him.

Ellie's face fell when she saw the state of the classroom. There were greenish brown blobs everywhere – on the workbenches, on the floor, even some on the walls. What on earth had happened here?

Snape seemed to once again read her thoughts. As he offered an explanation for the state of the classroom, Ellie wondered for the second time if it was possible for wizards to read people's minds. She resolved to go to the library and find out at the next available opportunity.

"The fourth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had some difficulty with their lesson today," Snape said, smirking.

Ellie glared at him for a moment. He was enjoying this, the git. Upon thinking this, she felt like hitting herself, and shot a glance at him to see if he looked angry. He was still smirking however. Good! Maybe he wasn't reading her mind after all.

She got to work while Snape sat at the desk, shifting through rolls of parchment. It took ages just to scrub one blob into nothingness. She'd be here forever! Snape occasionally glanced up from his work, smiling smugly whenever he caught a frustrated sigh.

The hours ticked by, and Ellie was starting to feel very distressed. It was already past eleven o'clock and there were still loads more to do. Tears of frustration sprang up behind her eyes, and she blinked furiously to dispel them. The last thing she needed was for Snape to catch her crying. He would love that. Try as she might a stray tear managed to roll down her cheek. She brushed it away hastily; worried that Snape would see it.

Snape happened to look up as Ellie rubbed her eyes. He saw the tear glistening on her cheek. He began to smile, but the expression on her face made him frown instead. A memory immediately flashed through his mind.

"_I can't do it Severus, it's too difficult. I'll never get through this class."_

_The girl looked at him, her expression a mixture of frustration and distress as she hastily brushed away the small tears that were streaming down her face._

"_You _can_ do it Claudia. Don't give up," urged Snape._

Snape shook his head, trying to forcing this memory to the back of his mind, but the sight of Ellie standing in front of him, the same expression of frustration and distress on her face, coupled with the same angry, unwanted tears made it too difficult. He suddenly couldn't bear to be in the same room with her any more.

"That is enough Miss Winterbourne. You may go," Snape announced, standing up.

Ellie looked at him for a moment, puzzled. She then gestured around her.

"But I'm not done yet…" she began, but Snape waved his hand, silencing her.

"I don't know about you Miss Winterbourne, but _I_ don't particularly want to spend the rest of the night in here waiting for you to finally finish the job. I have much more important things to do," he said coolly, sneering at her as he finished his sentence. He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand. After muttering a few words and pointing his wand, the classroom was suddenly spotless.

Ellie was surprised that Snape was letting her off so easily tonight. She had already been warned by Charlie Weasley, and a few other Gryffindor students, that Snape thought nothing of keeping students in detention until well after midnight. His sneering comment about having more important things to do however quickly dispelled the notion that he was doing her a favour. He was obviously as bored as she was.

"Thanks" she muttered to him. She made to leave the classroom, and Snape began to follow behind her.

"I shall escort you to the Gryffindor tower. Mr. Filch does not think too kindly of first years wandering the corridors at this time of night," he said, causing Ellie to whirl round, surprised. She looked at him for a moment, as if considering something, and then slowly nodded her head.

Snape and Ellie walked side by side, neither speaking nor even looking at each other. Snape had surprised himself when he offered to escort her. It had come out of his mouth before he had even realised he was thinking about it.

When they reached the tower, Ellie again turned to look at Snape. Her look made him feel uncomfortable. It was as if she was sizing him up.

"Thank you Professor," she eventually said, turning back and walking towards the portrait that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Snape nodded and turned to leave, but again surprised himself by looking back quickly to make sure she got into the common room safely.

He walked off to his own quarters, feeling disgusted with himself. Just because the brat happened to show a passing resemblance to her mother did not mean he should suddenly go soft on her. He was thankful no else had witnessed that scene outside the tower.

As the weeks passed, Ellie noticed that the potions classroom was never as messy as it had been the first night. On the days when she was in the last potions class with the Slytherins and they made as much mess as possible, she would be surprised to arrive at the classroom after dinner to see that it looked nowhere near as bad as it did when she had left the classroom a couple of hours previously. There was a very good reason for this. Snape now made sure that Ellie had about two hours of work to do at the most. With a wave of his wand, no matter how filthy the last class left the room Ellie would never have to spend hours upon hours cleaning up again. Although Snape despised himself for making things easier for the girl, he concluded that it was a necessary evil. The less time he spent around the girl the better. Perhaps if he only saw her a few times a week in his potions class, and perhaps fleetingly during meal times, he would have been able to build up a wall of defence around himself, and not allow Ellie's likeness to her mother to affect him. Sitting before her night after night however, observing begrudgingly that the brat, whether she was aware of it or not, not only shared a physical resemblance to her mother but also shared many of her mannerisms and expressions, was making it difficult to separate the girl from her mother. Snape had intended this punishment to be torture for Ellie; instead, he found it was torture for _him_.

Snape dreaded to think what the girl would look like in a few years time. He resolved however to never give her detention again. The less he saw of her after this term was over, the better. It still seemed cruelly ironic that a child he detested so much bore such a striking similarity to a woman who had meant everything to him. It was as if the universe was playing a big joke on him. Only on one point did the girl differ from her mother, Snape thought.

Claudia's sun kissed skin tone had always contrasted starkly with his own pallid complexion. It had used to amuse him when she would intertwine her fingers with his. There was never any mistaking which finger belonged to whom. Ellie however was almost as pale as he was, Snape mused. Snape contented himself with the thought that this child was at least not a blatant carbon copy of Claudia, the idea of taking this comparison of the child with himself further never occurring to him.

Ellie often wondered if perhaps Snape had something to do with the classroom's sudden change from utter chaos on the days she left it after classes with the Slytherins, to mild upset when she arrived after dinner. Who else would be able to make such a difference? If it had been someone else, a helpful Gryffindor perhaps, then Snape surely would have spoken out angrily against the huge difference in the room in the space of two hours immediately. He merely went to his desk however and began marking homework. Occasionally she caught him looking at her, but rather than continuing to stare coolly at her or smirk, as she would have expected, he hastily withdrew his gaze and glued his eyes to the rolls of parchment on his desk.

Ellie was left feeling very confused by Snape's attitude towards her. He seemed to hate her sometimes by the way she sometimes noticed him glaring at her in class or the Great Hall, but he was never as openly hostile to her again as he had been during her first two days at Hogwarts. Then there was of course the matter of the classroom magically tidying itself up somewhat, meaning she usually had very little to do compared to her first detention.

When Ellie had mentioned to Jamie that Snape had escorted her to the Gryffindor tower after the first detention had ended so late, Jamie had felt as puzzled as she did.

"What would he care if you got into trouble with Filch?" Jamie wondered aloud, voicing Ellie's very own thoughts. It did seem strange indeed, not at all what she would have expected from Snape. Ellie felt that there was some mystery surrounding Snape. Certainly he was creepy, and was very nasty to some of his students, particularly Gryffindors, but Elle felt there was something about her that seemed to have a hold over Snape. She began to seriously contemplate Jamie's suggestion that Snape had fancied her mother. The idea had revolted her at first, but it did at least explain some of Snape's strange behaviour to her. Ellie had shown Jamie the framed photo of her mother, as well as the photo album, and Jamie agreed that there was a strong resemblance.

"Wow. You really do look a lot like her you know," said Jamie, whistling in surprise when Ellie handed him the photo. She beamed; glad that Jamie agreed with her, but then noticed Jamie was frowning at the picture.

"What is it?" Ellie asked, and Jamie looked up at her, a confused expression on his face.

"Nothing. It's just; she looks very young in this picture, that's all."

Ellie took the picture and looked at it. Jamie was right; now that she was thinking about it her mother only looked about sixteen or seventeen, like she should still be at Hogwarts.

"Well, maybe it was taken when she was younger," said Ellie, shrugging her shoulders.

"How old was she, when she… you know, _died_?" Jamie asked.

Ellie scrunched up her nose, trying to see if see could remember. It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea. The information that Mrs. Manning had given her regarding her mother was still very sketchy, even after the revelation that she had been a witch.

"I don't know," Ellie admitted. Jamie frowned again for a minute, thinking.

"Well," he said at last, "You could always send that Mrs. Manning an owl and ask her," said Jamie.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ellie said sounding unsure. It wasn't that she didn't want to know. As a matter of fact she was now extremely curious to hear exactly when and how her mother had died. It was just she feared that Mrs. Manning may class all of this as "silly questions" and not tell her. She explained her thoughts to Jamie.

"Well, what about one of the teachers here then? Your mum went to Hogwarts so one of the older ones might have taught her and they might have heard something after she left. You could even ask Dumbledore," Jamie said.

The thought of asking the Headmaster, to whom Ellie had never spoken with personally, seemed terrifying. When Ellie told Jamie this, he laughed.

"Well, you could always ask Snape," he said, a wicked glint in his eye. Ellie nudged him playfully, laughing at the idea.

"Absolutely not!" she exclaimed.

She thought about it some more, and decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all to ask Dumbledore.

"He was the one that asked Mrs. Manning to take care of me, so he must know something," she mused.

Deciding to ask Dumbledore was easy. Actually doing it proved very difficult. For one thing, Ellie had no idea where Dumbledore's office was. For another thing, even if she did, she didn't know how to even begin to ask. How would she begin?

"Please Professor Dumbledore, how did my mum die, and how old was she incidentally?" seemed rather foolish in her head.

The end of term was fast approaching, and Ellie had yet to speak to Dumbledore. She began to wonder if maybe the information she wanted was locked away somewhere in the attic back home. She had learnt a simple spell that would open locked doors, so even if Mrs. Manning still kept the door locked it wouldn't be a problem. She would even brave going up to the attic alone again to hunt for information. Ellie knew that if she did use a spell to unlock the door that she might get into trouble, as she wasn't supposed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but she was prepared to run the risk.

Snape meanwhile was inwardly rejoicing that the term was almost over and he would be free from that brat for a while. If she suddenly decided to not come back to Hogwarts after Christmas Snape felt he would never treat a Gryffindor unfairly again.

About a week before term ended, Ellie was sitting in the Great Hall eating her breakfast while owls glided overhead, delivering post to various students. Ellie had been startled by this practise at first but had quickly gotten used to it. Now she barely noticed whenever an owl would zoom over her head. She had never received a letter herself. She didn't expect to either; who would write to her apart from Mrs. Manning anyway? On this particular morning however, she was shocked when a medium sized tawny owl dropped a letter on her plate.

At first, she was sure it was a mistake, but when she looked closer, she made out the unmistakable spindly handwriting that advertised that this was a letter from Mrs. Manning. She took the envelope and tore it open, curious to see what it contained.

She pulled out a slip of paper and scanned it. It was indeed a letter from Mrs. Manning that said the following:

_Dear Eleanora,_

_I hope you have been behaving yourself at Hogwarts. You remembered I trust, to inform Professor Dumbledore of how well I have taken care of you my dear. As it is almost Christmas I trust that term is ending soon. Please send a letter back with the owl to let me know the correct day and time to meet you at Kings Cross Station. We can go shopping for Christmas presents when you arrive. If Professor Dumbledore happens to ask what your plans for Christmas are, you can be sure to tell him!_

_See you soon,_

_Love Auntie Manning_

Ellie nearly choked on the piece of toast she had been eating. "Auntie Manning"? Had Mrs. Manning gone mad? Ellie mused over it for a moment, and then had to suppress a laugh when she realised why Mrs. Manning had signed her name in such a ridiculous way. She obviously held some fear that Dumbledore would feel that she was a bad guardian for Ellie, and "come knocking on our fireplace". Ellie chuckled at the image of Mrs. Manning (or should that be _Auntie Manning_?) cowering before Dumbledore, and for a wild moment considered sending Mrs. Manning back an owl telling her that Dumbledore had been very disappointed when Ellie had outlined to him how she had been raised. Reluctantly she concluded that this would be a bit _too_ mean however, and dismissed the idea.

Ellie now considered the owl that was at the moment pecking at the toast on her plate. Where had it come from? Did Mrs. Manning own an owl then? She had said something about sending an owl to Professor Dumbledore before, so perhaps she did. She had certainly kept it a secret if that was the case. Ellie rushed up to the common room with the owl following her before her classes began and quickly scribbled down the date and time that Mrs. Manning should meet her in London. She saw the owl off out the window and then hurried down to class.


	9. Interesting Maths

**Author's Notes: **Snape _finally_ does some interesting mathematical calculations in this chapter, hence the title.

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns all Harry Potter characters and settings.

**Chapter Nine: Interesting Maths**

When the last day of term finally arrived, and the students who were going home had been safely deposited on the Hogwarts Express, Snape breathed a sigh of relief. A couple of weeks away from that girl, finally.

Later that evening, Snape sat in the staffroom, attempting to read through some essays his first year potions classes had handed up. As usual, most of them were not worth the parchment they were written on. There were one or two exceptions – most notably that Winterbourne brat's one. Snape found himself torn between grudging respect and complete loathing for the girl. She was easily the most gifted student in his potions class in her year. Sometimes Snape wondered how Claudia would feel if she could have known that her daughter would succeed so easily, where she herself struggled. Potions had been her Achilles heel at Hogwarts, standing in between her and her future career as an Auror, or at least that is how she felt. She had scraped an E in her OWL and Slughorn had accepted her into his NEWT class, but the first day back in their sixth year Professor Slughorn had approached him.

"_Severus! Welcome back!" Slughorn exclaimed, shaking the tall, pale boy's hand._

"_Professor," Snape greeted in return._

"_I wonder Severus, if I may have a word?" Professor Slughorn asked._

"_Of course," Snape replied._

"_You see Severus, I have a student, you must know her – Claudia Winterbourne," Professor Slughorn began._

_Snape nodded, an image of a tall smiling blonde Gryffindor girl forming in his mind._

"_She worked very hard for her OWLs and did quite well, but she's worried that she may find it difficult to keep up with the pace of the NEWT class. She wants to do well because she would like to train as an Auror when she leaves Hogwarts. I was wondering Severus, as long as it doesn't interfere with your own studies of course, if you would mind helping her out a little."_

"_Me?" Snape asked, surprised at this request._

"_You are one of my best students Severus," Slughorn replied._

_Snape felt gratified to hear that Slughorn thought highly of him, but he still could not see why the Professor had selected him to help this Winterbourne girl._

"_What about Lily Evans? She's a Gryffindor so she probably knows Claudia Winterbourne better than I do," Snape said._

_  
"Ah yes, dear Lily! She has a lot on her plate this year Severus, being a prefect and all. I don't want to over-burden her. I would be very grateful if you could accommodate me Severus."_

_Snape sighed. He didn't particularly like the idea of having some silly Gryffindor girl tagging along with him during Potions, but Slughorn seemed to have his heart set on the idea._

"_Very well," Snape answered._

"_Excellent! I won't forget this Severus!" Slughorn answered._

Snape glared at the roll of parchment in his hands, containing Ellie's essay, and pushed it aside. He would look at it later. He picked up another essay and attempted to mark it.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were chattering in the corner, making it hard for him to concentrate. He caught a word however, that pulled his attention away from the essay completely. _Winterbourne._

"Young Miss Winterbourne is coming along very well with her charms lessons. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. Her mother excelled at charms!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed.

"Yes indeed," Professor McGonagall replied. "She's doing well in my lessons too. I remember her mother well. Such a pity she never got to take her NEWTs. She wanted to be an Auror. She certainly had the brains for it. Such a waste of a young life," said Professor McGonagall, sighing. Professor Flitwick gave her a knowing nod. Snape's ears pricked up at the last thing Professor McGonagall had said:

"_Such a waste of a young life."_

That sounded like Claudia had died when she was younger than Snape had assumed. What did McGonagall mean also about Claudia never getting to take her NEWTs? Certainly, Claudia's father had pulled her out of Hogwarts after the first term of their sixth year but, supposedly, she was going to be home-schooled and would still be able to sit the NEWT exams. Snape cleared his throat, hoping to get Professor McGonagall's attention. It worked; both Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick looked in his direction.

"Is that Eleanora Winterbourne I heard you talking about?" Snape began.

"Yes it is," Professor McGonagall replied. A thought suddenly seemed to strike her.

"Of course you knew her mother Severus. Claudia Winterbourne was in your year if I'm not mistaken," Professor McGonagall added.

"Yes she was," Snape said, sounding casual but inwardly urging Professor McGonagall to continue.

"Professor Flitwick and I were just saying what an awful tragedy it was, her dying so young. She had such a great future in front of her," Professor McGonagall said, a sad note detectable in her tone.

"Oh really? I hadn't heard that she died," Snape said.

"Oh my! Well yes of course, she left Hogwarts in the middle of your sixth year. Yes, she died the following July. So tragic," Professor McGonagall said.

Snape frowned. Died the following July? That couldn't be right.

"Surely you're not saying she died seven months after leaving Hogwarts?" Snape said at last, expecting Professor McGonagall to correct him and tell him it was the July after that – one year and seven months after her departure from Hogwarts.

"That's exactly what I'm saying Severus. Poor dear. Didn't even make it to her seventeenth birthday," Professor McGonagall replied, shaking her head.

"But… the child…" Snape began, confused.

"Yes well, I don't think it would be right to pass judgement on the poor girl, considering she died so soon after having young Eleanora," said Professor McGonagall, standing up.

"Now, I must get back to my marking. I shall see you both at dinner," she said, inclining her head to both Snape and Professor Flitwick. Professor Flitwick gave a nod in response and then picked up a piece of parchment that had been resting on his lap and began to study it. Snape however had not heard Professor McGonagall's last sentence at all. He was busy furiously counting back the years.

Of course! _Why_ had he not realised it before. He knew the brat must be eleven to be starting at Hogwarts. He had only left Hogwarts as a student _ten_ years ago. Of course that meant that she was born at least a year before he left Hogwarts. What on earth did this mean though? If Claudia had given birth to that girl seven months after leaving Hogwarts then that meant…

As the truth dawned on him, Snape could have been knocked over by even tiny Professor Flitwick. He sat frozen in his chair, horror-struck. He mouth was gaping and his eyes were bulging. That child, that dratted child was… she must be… his _daughter_.


	10. Congratulations Severus!

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter, its characters and settings are all the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Ten: Congratulations Severus!**

"Over here dear!" a familiar voice called.

Ellie spun around at the sound of Mrs. Manning's voice. She saw her standing a few feet in front of her, waving. Ellie was surprised at how glad she suddenly was to see Mrs. Manning. She rushed over to her, but stopped herself in time from giving her a hug. She didn't want to offend Mrs. Manning – not when there was the prospect of shopping for Christmas presents in front of her.

"Well now, let me look at you?" Mrs. Manning said, holding Ellie at arms length and casting a critical eye over her.

"Hmm, you've certainly grown! Well now, let's sit down and get a cup of tea and you can tell me all about your first term," Mrs. Manning said releasing her.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting down at a table, a cup of tea in Mrs. Manning's hands and a cup of hot chocolate sitting on the table in front of Ellie.

"Did you talk to Dumbledore my dear?" Mrs. Manning asked, taking a sip of her tea.

Ellie grinned mischievously to herself, again considering stringing Mrs. Manning along, making her believe that Dumbledore would show up any moment to berate her for being such a bad guardian. As tempting as it was though, she needed to stay in Mrs. Manning's good books, so she shook her head.

"No, I haven't spoken to him personally."

"Ah!" Mrs. Manning said, beaming. Good! "So, did you have a good term?"

"Should I tell her about all my detentions?" Ellie wondered. Mrs. Manning would probably explode at her if she did, so she decided against it.

"Oh yes, I had a wonderful time," Ellie replied.

"I hope you behaved well. You have your family's honour to uphold you know."

"Oh yes, of course I did Mrs. Manning," Ellie lied. "You know me," Ellie added, a twinkle in her eye as she took a sip from her cup.

Mrs. Manning stared suspiciously at her. She _did_ know Ellie, and the girl usually seemed to have a remarkable knack for getting herself into mischief. Still, she hadn't received any owls from the school so if Ellie had gotten into trouble at least it wasn't anything major. Ordinarily Mrs. Manning would demand Ellie own up to whatever trouble she may have caused, but she felt she needed to stay on Ellie's good side, lest Ellie suddenly decide to have a word with Dumbledore.

A thought suddenly occurred to Ellie.

"Mrs. Manning, where did you get that owl that brought me your letter?" she asked. She had been very curious about this.

"Oh you mean Talas? Oh, I've had her for years! I use her to send letters back and forth with my sisters!" Mrs. Manning told her.

"Really? Then how come I've never seen her before?" Ellie asked, intrigued.

"Well, I didn't want to scare you. She lives up in the attic most of the time," Mrs. Manning replied. The mention of the attic caused Ellie to blush. Mrs. Manning noticed this.

"Of course, I'm surprised you haven't run into Talas, considering your _fascination_ with the attic," she added.

Ellie blushed even harder. Mrs. Manning surprised Ellie though by chuckling. Ellie began to laugh.

"Wait, is _that_ why you didn't want me in the attic? Because of Talas?" Ellie asked.

"Well, at first I didn't want you finding your grandfather's or mother's things. There are some items in that attic that may have been difficult to explain to you, before you knew of your family's history. I was afraid also that you might disturb Talas if you went traipsing about up there, or that she would give you a fright. You'd be surprised at how frightened people can be of owls when they're not used to them."

Ellie recalled the night she had been in the attic and screeching noise she had heard, as well as the sensation that something had brushed past her hair. It must have Talas, woken up by Ellie's fumbling through the chest. Phew! Ellie felt very relieved.

"So, does this mean I can go up to the attic now and have a look around?" Ellie asked hopefully.

Mrs. Manning considered the question for a moment.

"I suppose so. As long as you don't make a mess," Mrs. Manning told her.

"Oh thank you _thank you_ Mrs. Manning!" cried Ellie, jumping up and down in her seat. Mrs. Manning looked around her, feeling people were suddenly staring at them.

"All right, all right. Calm down!" she hissed.

Ellie sobered up, not wanting to anger Mrs. Manning. This was wonderful! She might be able to find the information on her mother that she had been wondering about. Ellie resolved to begin her search as soon as she and Mrs. Manning got home.

After sitting in the staffroom for what seemed like hours, frozen with horror at the prospect of that little brat being related to him, of her actually being his _child_, Snape had managed to haul himself out of his chair and stagger back to his own room. He collapsed heavily on the bed, wondering for a moment if he crawled under the covers would it all go away.

He ran his hands through his hair desperately, trying to make sense of this revelation. How? How had this happened to him? How could Claudia have a child, _his_ child, and not bother to say anything? Things had not ended well between them, but surely he deserved to know? Why would she keep this from him? Why _did_ she keep this from him?

Another horrifying thought occurred to him. Did the brat know? He could just imagine the laughing-stock he would be if this news got out

"_Claudia Winterbourne was so disgusted to be having Severus Snape's child that she ran away from Hogwarts and never told him!"_

Snape quickly recalled all his conversations with the girl. She certainly didn't seem to give any indication that she was aware that he was her father. Yes, she had been ruder to him than most students had ever dared, but then again her mother had never been a shrinking violet herself. Snape suspected that Ellie's insolence was just part of her nature.

Snape suddenly felt the need for a drink. He had a bottle of wine stashed away for a special occasion, but what occasion could be more _special_ than finding out he had an eleven-year-old daughter - the rudest, most insolent and temperamental student he had ever had the displeasure to teach to boot, he thought bitterly to himself.

He found the bottle and poured himself a glass.

"Congratulations Severus!" Snape sneered to a reflection of himself in the mirror, and held the glass up in a mock solute. He then downed the contents of the glass in one mouthful.


	11. What Happened to Claudia?

******Author's Notes: **Thanks to those of you who left reviews. It inspired me to finish this chapter!

******  
Disclaimer: **Harry Potter, its characters and settings are all the property of J.K. Rowling.

******Chapter Eleven: What Happened to Claudia?**

A bleary eye opened slowly, but seeing nothing but blur, it shut again. There was a groan, and the crumpled heap that had been lying on the floor moved slightly.

Snape was suddenly aware that he was lying on something very uncomfortable that was painfully jabbing into his back. He rolled over; his movements causing him to raise his hands to his head as a sharp pain began to throb in his temple. Again, he opened one eye, and then the other. It took a few moments for the world in front of him to come into focus. Tilting his head to the side, he saw the object that he had been laying on – an empty wine bottle laying on its side. Another empty bottle, of what Snape suspected had been his father's vintage cognac judging by its shape, was standing nearby.

Snape began to look (slowly, his head was still throbbing) about him in confusion. Why was he lying on the floor? Why did he feel so awful? Why were there empty bottles on the floor beside him?

He had a few more moments of ignorant bliss before the memories of the previous evening came flooding back. He groaned again as he heaved himself up from the floor.

Slowly he stumbled over to his desk and collapsed in the chair. He caught sight of his face in the mirror on his wall and almost did not recognise the person looking back at him. His normally lank hair was dishevelled and standing on end. His eyes were bloodshot. He rubbed his hand against his cheek and his pallid skin felt clammy to the touch.

Resting his elbows on the desk, his head sank against his hands as the wretched thoughts that had plagued him last night flashed through his mind.

"Good _God_!" he thought bitterly to himself. This was an absolute mess. What was he supposed to do next? Was he supposed to tell someone, confront the girl? Did he even _want_ to confront the brat? He shuddered at the very thought.

A sudden image floated into his mind of Ellie, standing over a cauldron with a desperate look on her face, hastily brushing a tear from her cheek. His heart softened for a moment, but then he shook his head furiously, angrily reprimanding himself for such foolish weakness.

A sudden determination washing over him, he stood up and began to stride to the door. His legs wobbled under him for a moment, but he managed to make it, although rather unsteadily. He pulled the door open and stepped out into the dark corridor.

His knees suddenly buckled under him, and he had to brace himself against the wall to keep from sinking to the floor. Using the wall as a crutch, he managed to make his way (feeling very undignified. Praise Merlin that none of his students were here to witness this) to the small bathroom further up the corridor.

Splashing some cool water against his face, Snape peered at his reflection in the mirror. He was starting to look slightly better. His eyes did not seem as red as they had been a few minutes before, and after dampening his hair with water and smoothing it down, he almost looked like himself.

Snape looked at his watch, and winced when he saw the time. It was after one o'clock. He had slept through the entire morning. Snape prayed that his absence at breakfast, and now at lunch, would not be noticed too much, or at the very least that nobody would ask him any awkward questions.

After freshening himself up, Snape debated what to do next. If he went back to his room, he would only torture himself with thoughts of Claudia and Ellie. It would be better to be around other people where he couldn't brood by himself. He remembered that he had been in the middle of marking essays in the staffroom the previous evening before_ it_ had hit him, and concluded that perhaps that would be the best thing to take his mind off things at the moment.

After checking once more that he bore little trace of how he had spent the previous evening (his eyes, he concluded, were still bloodshot, although it was barely noticeable now), Snape left the bathroom and headed for the staffroom.

When he got there, the room was empty. Everyone must still be at lunch, he supposed. He walked across the room to the seat he had occupied the previous evening. Lying untouched on the table beside it were the essays he had been marking the previous evening. Snape sat down and picked up the first essay in the pile.

A moment later Snape heard the door creaking open and looked up. Dumbledore walked into the room and noticed Snape immediately.

"Severus! We missed you at breakfast. Everything is okay I take it?" Dumbledore asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yes, Headmaster," Snape replied, lowering his eyes to avoid eye contact.

"Good," Dumbledore replied and took a seat near Snape. Snape fixed his gaze on the parchment in front of him, not wishing to strike up a conversation. A moment later however, Dumbledore interrupted him.

"Does this belong to you Severus?" Dumbledore asked. Snape looked up and saw Dumbledore taking a piece of parchment up from the floor.

"Eleanora Winterbourne. The Properties of…" Dumbledore began, reading the heading on the parchment. Snape immediately snatched the parchment out of Dumbledore's hands, much to Dumbledore's surprise. Snape began breathing heavily. He was not sure why he had reacted that way. It had been instinctive. It was as if Dumbledore kept reading he would come across something that would betray the fact that Ellie was his, Snape's, daughter and Snape had to prevent it. He instantly regretted his actions however, as Dumbledore was now giving him a curious look.

"Are you _sure_ everything is okay Severus?" Dumbledore asked slowly.

"Yes!" Snape barked. Again, Snape regretted his behaviour as Dumbledore shot him another curious glance, and tried to compose himself.

"Yes," he repeated after a moment, calmer than before.

Dumbledore looked at Snape a moment longer, considering him. Snape began to feel uncomfortable. Finally, Dumbledore spoke.

"How is Miss Winterbourne coming along in your class Severus?" he asked.

Snape felt like throwing the parchment to the floor and stomping on it. _Any_ other subject would have been welcome. That brat was _always_ causing him grief.

"Her performance is... adequate," Snape said slowly, hoping this would satisfy Dumbledore.

"Ah, good. I have a _particular_ interest in the child's well-being," Dumbledore replied, giving Snape a knowing look.

Snape froze. What did that mean? Did Dumbledore _know_?

"Really?" Snape replied calmly, although his heart was racing.

"Yes. The poor child has a tragic history, as you are no doubt aware of yourself," Dumbledore said, shifting in his chair to make himself more comfortable.

Snape heart began to pound so fast he was sure Dumbledore could hear. He tried to remain composed on the outside however.

"I heard her mother died when she was young," Snape said.

"Yes, indeed. Died within minutes of the birth in fact, "said Dumbledore solemnly. "Awful tragedy," Dumbledore added sadly, shaking his head.

Snape felt his pulse slow down. An image of Claudia taking her last breath flashed across his mind, making him feel as if he had just taken a blow to the stomach.

"Why did she… how did she…?" Snape began, stumbling over the words. He wanted to know what had caused Claudia's death, but it was difficult. Fortunately, Dumbledore understood what he meant.

"Officially, she took a fall down some stairs," Dumbledore said. Snape frowned. Officially?

"And unofficially?" he asked.

"Unofficially," Dumbledore said, drawing his chair closer to Snape and lowering his voice," I believe she was murdered."

Snape's eyes grew wide and he jumped out of his seat, his heart racing again.

"Murdered?" Snape exclaimed.

"Yes," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Who? Why?" Snape asked in an agitated voice.

Dumbledore looked mildly surprised at Snape's reaction, but answered the question.

"A man by the name of Joseph Ramsey. He was a cousin of Jonas Winterbourne, Claudia Winterbourne's father. You perhaps may be familiar with the name Severus," Dumbledore said.

Snape's mind was racing. Joseph Ramsey? That name _did_ seem familiar, Snape thought. But who was he?

It came to him in a flash. Joseph Ramsey! He had been a Death Eater.

Snape sat down heavily. A _Death Eater_. Claudia had been killed by a _Death Eater_. He dropped his head into his hands for a moment, groaning. He had known him, even spoken to him once. A sudden surge of anger took over Snape. He had been on friendly terms with the man who had killed Claudia!

Snape jumped up again, his eyes flashing.

"What happened?" Snape demanded.

Again, Dumbledore looked surprised at Snape's reaction. Snape looked livid. Dumbledore however, continued with the story.

"The Winterbournes were a very wealthy family. Jonas had inherited most of the family money, and Claudia would obviously inherit it after Jonas and his wife died. Ramsey however felt that, as Claudia was a half-blood she was unworthy of the Winterbourne fortune. Nobody is sure of the exact details as there were no witnesses, but Joseph arrived at the Winterbourne manor late one evening when Jonas and his wife were out. Claudia was on bed rest, due to some complications with her pregnancy, and Ramsey apparently went up to her room to visit her. According to a servant, minutes later Claudia could be heard screaming from upstairs. The servant rushed out to the hall in time to see Claudia fall down the stairs. She was rushed to St. Mungo's, but there was nothing they could do. They did manage however, to save the child. When questioned, Ramsey claimed that when he entered the room, Claudia had been having a nightmare. He shook her to wake her but she jumped up and ran out of the room. He claims she must have tripped on her nightgown and that caused the fall. Of course, Jonas believed him. Why would he not? Ramsey was his cousin, and they had always been on good terms."

"Then how do you know he… he _killed_ Claudia?" Snape asked.

"Some of us had our suspicions about Ramsey and his involvement with Voldemort," began Dumbledore. Snape flinched at the mention of Voldemort.

"To learn more however, we must travel three years into the future. Jonas Winterbourne and his wife are now getting older, but they are raising their granddaughter who managed to survive the fall that killed her mother. Ramsey is still suspected of involvement with Voldemort, and of killing Muggles, although this knowledge is not widely known however. Voldemort had now fallen from power, after his encounter with young Harry Potter. Ramsey was on his own again, with no hope of gaining any power or influence. Ramsey too is seething that Claudia's daughter has survived the fall that killed her mother. She, obviously, will now inherit the Winterbourne fortune, unless she can be… _disposed_ of. Threats had been made against the family months before. Jonas's wife is a Muggle, so Jonas, taking the threats seriously, went into hiding. Before leaving however, Jonas entrusted two people with his whereabouts – a former colleague from the Ministry of Magic… and his cousin, Joseph Ramsey. While in hiding, Jonas is contacted by his colleague. The Ministry is in desperate need of his expertise after the fall of Voldemort. But, Jonas cannot leave his wife and granddaughter alone. He needs to trust someone to take care of them, someone like his cousin. Jonas leaves his family in his cousin's care, and joins the Ministry of Magic in a secret operation. While there however, he learns the awful truth that his cousin is fact suspected of being a Death Eater. Horrified, he rushes home, accompanied by his former Auror colleague, but tragedy awaits him. He finds Ramsey standing over his wife's lifeless body, his wand in his hand. Ramsey makes a run for it and almost escapes. Jonas however catches up to him. A struggle ensues, and Ramsey kills Jonas, using the same curse he used to kill Jonas's wife. Jonas's Auror friend however, is not far behind, and succeeds where Jonas failed. Ramsey is restrained and his wand taken away. Eventually he is taken to Azkaban." Dumbledore paused here and wandered over to a nearby table that contained a pitcher of water. He poured himself a glass and took a sip. Snape sat with his head resting on one hand, taking in Dumbledore's story, disbelief etched on his face. Dumbledore walked back to his chair and settled down again to continue with his tale.

"The child meanwhile miraculously is safe. Ramsey had attacked the Muggle grandmother before attempting to move on to the child. The question is what to do with the child? She has no known living relatives left, apart from Ramsey. Her father is unknown," Dumbledore continued.

"Perhaps if he _had_ been known, he would not have been in a position to care for the child," Dumbledore added, and shot Snape a curious glance. Snape started. Dumbledore stared at Snape for a moment, and then continued.

"I was aware of a woman who had once worked for the Winterbourne family, as a nanny to Claudia I believe. She seemed to be the closest thing to family for the child that I could find. I applied to her, asking would she be interested in taking on a new charge. She was reluctant at first, but eventually we managed to come to an arrangement. Therefore, you see Severus, why I am interested in the child's well-being. She has suffered many losses in her young life," Dumbledore finished.

Snape sat in silence, a stony expression on his face. The news that Dumbledore believed Claudia was killed because of Ramsey's belief in the Dark Lord's Pure-blood propaganda made him feel physically sick. He had once _himself_ aligned himself to Voldemort's beliefs. In fact, this had been what had driven a wedge between him and Claudia all those years ago before she left Hogwarts.

"_I saw you coming out of The Hog's Head with Lucius Malfoy again," Claudia said sounding worried. Snape sighed in exasperation._

"_Have you been spying on me?" he demanded._

"_Of course not! But Severus, this is the third time in a month. What does that man want from you?" Claudia asked desperately._

"_He is sharing his ideas with me. I have already told you this Claudia," Snape answered impatiently, beginning to feel angry at this inquisition._

"_Not that Pure-blood nonsense again!" Claudia exclaimed._

"_It's not nonsense!" Snape retorted._

"_Oh please! You of all people should know it _is_ Severus. Your father is a Muggle," Claudia replied._

"_NEVER MENTION MY FATHER AGAIN!" Snape yelled, shaking with anger. Claudia recoiled._

"_Severus, what's happened to you? You've been acting so strangely lately!"_

"_Nothing has happened to me! Why can't you leave me alone for once? I can't do anything without you asking me twenty questions!" Snape hissed._

_Claudia stared at Snape, frowning in confusion and disbelief. This wasn't the Severus she knew, the Severus she loved._

"_You've changed," she finally stated, shaking her head._

"Severus?"

"What?" Snape said in a confused tone as he was roused from his thoughts. He looked up to find Dumbledore looking at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"I… yes," Snape answered hastily and then stood up. He could not sit facing Dumbledore in this room anymore.

"Excuse me Headmaster," Snape said, and then walked quickly to the door and left the room.

Dumbledore watched him leave, noting his agitated state.

"Interesting," Dumbledore mumbled to himself and then got up to pour himself another glass of water.


	12. The Diary

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twelve: The Diary**

By the time Ellie and Mrs. Manning had gotten home from London, it was very late. Ellie wanted to start looking through the attic immediately, but Mrs. Manning insisted she go to bed.

"You want to go up to that attic at _this_ time of night?" she screeched.

"Please Mrs. Manning, it's not that late. It's only just gone eleven o'clock!" Ellie said, pleading with Mrs. Manning.

"Absolutely not! Bed, now!" Mrs. Manning said sternly. Ellie heard her mutter, "Only just gone eleven o'clock indeed!"

Ellie gave up. If she kept pushing it, Mrs. Manning would probably forbid her from going up altogether. She decided to get up early the next morning however, and began exploring.

Ellie was true to her word, and was up well before Mrs. Manning the next day. She got dressed as quickly as possible and headed up to the attic.

The sun was not quite up and the attic was dark. Ellie had to go back to her room to retrieve her torch before making her way back to the attic again.

Armed with her touch, she could barely make out a dusty corner that she had yet to investigate on her previous trips to the attic. She scrambled over, looking about for Talas the owl, hoping she was not disturbing her. At least if Ellie heard a screech like the one she had heard before, she would know what was causing it.

A couple of hours later, having been called by Mrs. Manning, Ellie left the attic, disappointed. She had found some more photo albums that had contained some photos of her mother, but there were none of her past her teenage years. There was nothing much else of interest to be seen – most of the things in the attic belonged to Mrs. Manning and her family.

When Mrs. Manning saw Ellie walking down the stairs to the hall covered in dust she opened her mouth to scold her, but Ellie's dejected face touched her and instead she merely told Ellie that breakfast was ready.

Over breakfast, Ellie was silent. She debated whether or not to ask Mrs. Manning questions about her mother. Mrs. Manning had definitely been a lot nicer lately, but still, she was never fond of Ellie asking her too many questions before and perhaps that had not changed. If only she had found something relating to her mother. Letters, a diary, _anything_.

It suddenly came to her in a flash. She choked as she swallowed a piece of toast quickly, and Mrs. Manning thumped her on the back.

"Are you alright dear?" Mrs. Manning asked, concerned, and Ellie managed to splutter out, "I'm okay."

"May I be excused?" Ellie added, and Mrs. Manning nodded. Ellie jumped up and dashed up the stairs to her room.

Of course! Why had she not thought of it before! The diary she had found on her first visit to the attic – she had bundled it into her trunk and had never thought about it since. What if it had belonged to her mother? The information she was looking for might have been there, within her grasp, all the time and she had _stupidly_ overlooked it.

Ellie dug frantically through her trunk until she found the diary. Her heart thumping against her chest, she pulled it out and stared at it for a moment. The diary was locked of course, but she knew just the spell to take care of that. Ellie glanced sideways at the desk under her window. Her wand was resting on it. She knew she was not supposed to use magic outside of school, but she just _could not_ wait two weeks until she got back to Hogwarts. She was willing to risk the consequences.

Her breathing shallow, she took her wand with a shaky hand, and aimed it at the diary she was holding with the other hand.

"Alohamora," she breathed, and a jet of light burst from the end of her wand and hit the diary. The lock on the side sprang open.

Ellie dropped her wand on her bed and swallowed. This could be it. Slowly, she opened the cover of the diary. Her heart leapt at the inscription on the first page:

_August 15th 1975_

_To Claudia, my best friend in the world._

_Happy 15th Birthday!_

_Love, Amelia_

"_To Claudia_"! The diary _did_ belong to her mother after all! She quickly began to turn the pages, eager to read what her mother had written. As she turned over page after page, she began to frown. Every page was blank. Every single page! Ellie flicked desperately through the rest of the diary, searching for something. _Anything_! A sentence, a word – but there was nothing. The entire diary was blank.

Ellie threw the diary to the floor in frustration. After all that and the diary was empty. She had come so close, but now she was back to square one.

Ellie sat in her room for a while, bitterly disappointed. It was so unfair! All she wanted was to know _something_ about her mother. She did not even know how old her mother had been when she died! Ellie shook her head in despair for a few moments, but then suddenly she jumped up from her bed. The inscription in the diary! It had said "_Happy 15th Birthday_"! Now, what was the date on it again?

Ellie dived for the diary and yanked it open. There it was – August 15th 1975! Her mother's fifteenth birthday was on August 15th 1975, which made her…

Ellie froze, dumbstruck. Sixteen. Her mother was _sixteen_ when she was born? That couldn't be right. No, the date must be wrong, or maybe that wasn't a 5 in "15th Birthday". Ellie twisted her head around and squinted her eyes at the inscription. Could it be an 8 maybe? It did look like a 5, but the writing was small so perhaps she was just misreading it.

After staring hard at the writing for a few minutes, Ellie gave up. It definitely looked like a 5, but it must be wrong. Ellie sighed. She would have to ask Mrs. Manning, or else let it puzzle her for the rest of the holiday until she could go back to school and get Jamie's opinion.

Ellie found Mrs. Manning sitting in the living room, drinking a cup of tea.

"Er, Mrs. Manning, may I ask you a question?" Ellie said politely.

Mrs. Manning glanced up at her for a moment and sighed.

"I suppose so," she answered.

So far so good.

"How old was my mother when she had me?" Ellie asked.

Mrs. Manning's eyes narrowed.

"Why do you want to know that?" she asked sharply.

"I'm just curious!" Ellie told her.

Mrs. Manning put her cup down on the coffee table and stood up.

"Never you mind how old she was!" Mrs. Manning said, wagging her finger at Ellie. Ellie began to feel frustrated. She decided to try a different question.

"Well, when was she born?" Ellie asked.

Mrs. Manning opened her mouth, as if to answer the question, but then shut it quickly and glared at Ellie.

"Ho, trying to be clever, eh? Trying to trick me? Well it won't work. Now you just be a good girl for once and stop asking so many silly questions!" Mrs Manning cried, and began to storm out of the room. At the door, she stopped and turned to Ellie.

"And clean up this room! It's a mess!" she added, gesturing to the cup on the coffee table.

Ellie gave her an indignant frown.

"You left that there just now!" she said, but instantly regretted it when Mrs. Manning looked coldly at her. She knew what _that_ meant. She had just blown any chance there had been of having a nice Christmas with Mrs. Manning for once.

Sighing in frustration, Ellie got to work. It looked like she would _have_ to wait until she got back to Hogwarts to get more answers. Ellie was determined that she would not let anything get in her way this time however. As soon as she could, she would ask Professor McGonagall what year it had been when her mother had started at Hogwarts. She would be able to work out the answer she wanted from there.


	13. Prepared

**Author's Notes: **This chapter is devoted to Snape's ramblings.

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series.

**Chapter Thirteen: Prepared**

Snape wandered back to his room in a daze, the story that Dumbledore had just relayed to him swimming in his head. Images of Joseph Ramsey flashed through his mind, giving him the urge to punch the wall and scream.

Knowing that Claudia had died in such a senseless way made him feel both angry and helpless. He should have been there! Perhaps if he had known he would have been, and Ramsey would never have been able to lay a finger on Claudia.

Something Dumbledore had said and did gave Snape pause for thought also.

"_Her father is unknown. Perhaps if he _had_ been known, he would not have been in a position to care for the child."_

The look Dumbledore had given him after this comment had startled Snape. It was as if he was considering Snape's role in all of this and putting the pieces together. But, how could he know? If Claudia had not revealed who the father of her child was then how could Dumbledore possibly suspect it was him? He and Claudia had kept their relationship a secret at Hogwarts. The only person who knew was a friend of Claudia's, Amelia Ryan, and he could not imagine Amelia blabbing to anyone, much less Dumbledore. Also, surely Dumbledore would have mentioned something before this if he suspected that Claudia's daughter was his child.

_His child._ The idea still seemed so strange. That girl – that brat – was his _child_, his child with Claudia. A mixture of them both, a product of their relationship, of the feelings they had had for each other. At the same time however, he loathed the girl. She was arrogant and impertinent; she was a constant reminder of how badly he had handled his relationship with Claudia. She was a reminder of what he _could_ have had, but didn't, and he hated her for that. She had lived and Claudia had died, and, given the choice between her and her child, he knew Claudia would not have had it any other way; he hated the brat for that too.

If there had been no child involved would Claudia have regretted their bitter parting? Would she have fought harder for him, to keep him away from Lucius Malfoy and the Dark Lord? If there had been no child would Claudia be alive today – the two of them together and happy? She had been his only chance for happiness, and she was gone. Had the child been partly to blame for that?

And what of the future? In two weeks, the brat would be back at the school and sitting at the front of his Potion's class, staring at him out of _Claudia's_ eyes. How was he supposed to cope with that? Was he supposed to pretend he knew nothing and just put it all behind him, carry on as if she was just another student? Was he supposed to stand back and watch her grow into an adult and then wave her off after her seventh year, never to see her again? Was that the right thing to do?

The last thing he wanted was for the brat to know. It was bad enough that he knew! However, it still felt cold to allow his last remaining link to Claudia to slip so slowly through his fingers until he lost her completely. What would Claudia have said to him if she knew?

On the other hand, Claudia didn't _want_ him to know. If she had, she would have told him! He was sitting here mourning her, and she had not even had the decency to let him know she was going to have a baby. She obviously didn't want him involved at all. So why should he sit here feeling guilty for not wanting anything to do with the brat? Why was he wasting his time thinking about the right thing to do? His life had been just fine without this mess suddenly dropped into his lap.

Dumbledore said the girl had a guardian – well that settled it. The girl was fine on her own. In fact, she would probably be just as horrified as he was if she discovered the truth. It was better for both of them if he did just forget about it and carry on as normal, as if the girl was absolutely nothing to him. And she _was_ nothing to him. She may look like Claudia, but that was just something he would have to grow accustomed to. So he had to teach her a few times a week – so what? He had to teach a plethora of other students that he detested too, day in and day out. She was just one more. He could get used to the face. He had allowed himself to indulge in old, forgotten feelings for too long, and it had weakened him. He needed to put those feelings behind him now and move on. Claudia was dead and there was nothing that could be done about it. To continue to hold on to a dream of a life he could never have was preposterous.

The last remaining problem was Dumbledore. Short of asking him outright, something he could never do, how would he be able to determine exactly how much Dumbledore knew about the girl's parentage? Would Dumbledore take it upon himself to orchestrate a father/daughter reunion? Would he feel it his "duty" to give the girl a family – even if it was a family that neither wanted her nor was wanted by the girl herself?

If Dumbledore was merely suspicious then that could be rectified. He would just be sure to give Dumbledore no more reason to suspect him. He should not have allowed Dumbledore to see how Claudia's story affected him – that had been a moment of weakness. That moment was over however, and would never be repeated again. If Dumbledore brought up Claudia again, he would be prepared.


	14. Seeing Her for the First Time

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Fourteen: Seeing Her for the First Time**

The two weeks Ellie had spent with Mrs. Manning over the Christmas holidays had been an absolute nightmare. Mrs. Manning had never got over Ellie's (perfectly reasonable!) outburst in the living room. Ellie counted down the days till it was time to return to Hogwarts.

Finally, the day arrived, and Ellie was sitting on a train on her way to London again. Mrs. Manning had decided that Ellie could manage the trunk on the train, as she was now an inch or two taller. Why this made a difference Ellie wasn't sure. She suspected the _real_ reason had something to do with the smoke that had practically come out of Mrs. Manning's ears when the taxi driver had told her the cost of the fare the last time they had come to London…

Mrs. Manning shocked Ellie by suddenly being very friendly when they got to the train station. She made a royal fuss about saying goodbye, which both embarrassed and confused Ellie immensely. As Ellie was running towards the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters with her trunk on a trolley, she twigged that Mrs. Manning had probably panicked and realised that Ellie might go and see Dumbledore when she got back. Ellie sighed in disgust as she slowed to a stop on the platform beside the Hogwarts Express.

A familiar voice to her right greeted her, making her forget all about Mrs. Manning. It was Jamie with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Logan remembered Ellie from Diagon Alley, but Jamie introduced them properly (Ellie, not Eleanora). Jamie's father helped the duo load their trunks into an empty compartment and Mr. and Mrs. Logan waved them off when the train pulled out of the station. Ellie felt a pang of jealousy at Jamie's happy family. She had never experienced that kind of _family_ feeling with Mrs. Manning.

On the trip to Hogwarts, Ellie filled Jamie in on the story about her mother's diary, and her quest to find out more about her mother. Jamie agreed that asking Professor McGonagall some questions was a good idea. Ellie's mother had been in Gryffindor and Professor McGonagall had been head of house then too. If anyone at Hogwarts knew anything about Ellie's mum then it would be Professor McGonagall.

When the students finally arrived at Hogwarts, they trouped into the Great Hall for dinner. Snape was sitting in his usual seat at the staff table. He looked up when the doors to the hall were thrown open and masses of students began to file in, heading to their house tables. His eyes scanned the crowd until he saw her. She was walking with that Logan boy, chatting animatedly. He felt his stomach lurch as he watched her make her way to top of the Gryffindor table. Actually seeing her in person was affecting him much more than he had anticipated. His heart had skipped a beat when she had thrown a lopsided gaze in his direction, and his mouth hung open in amazement as he took in her smiling features. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time.

She was beautiful, he thought to himself. Everything about her was perfect. He watched her laughing and grinning as she exchanged greetings with her classmates, absolutely fascinated. It was only when he became aware of Dumbledore calling to him from down the table that he snapped out of it.

"Severus, it is good to see the students back again, isn't it?" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

Snape set his face into a hard line, furious with himself for such a pathetic reaction to the girl. What was she to him? It was foolish and weak to start feeling any _paternal_ pangs now. Snape felt disgusted with himself. He had resolved not to give Dumbledore any reason to have any suspicions and then at the first sight of the brat he loses his head. Well no more. He had seen her now and the shock was over. He could handle it now. He _would_ handle it now, and Dumbledore would be forced to keep his smug comments to himself.

Ellie cornered Professor McGonagall outside the Great Hall after dinner.

"Professor, may I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?" Professor McGonagall replied.

"Do you know what year my mum started at Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall looked surprised, and began to frown.

"I can't remember off-hand, let me think about it for a minute," she said.

Ellie waited patiently, her fingers crossed that Professor McGonagall would be able to answer her question.

As Professor McGonagall was trying to remember what year exactly had Claudia Winterbourne come to Hogwarts, she spotted Snape. Snape had seen Professor McGonagall standing with Ellie first and had tried to get away as quickly as possible. He almost cursed aloud when Professor McGonagall called out to him.

"Professor Snape!" she cried.

He had no choice but to turn around and walk over to her. As he did so, he avoided looking at Ellie, although he was furious with himself to find his heart was pounding against his chest the closer he got to the girl.

"Professor, can you remember what year it was when you started at Hogwarts?" she asked him. He gave her a confused look.

"It's Miss. Winterbourne. She wants to know when her mother started, and I know you were in her year," Professor McGonagall explained.

When Professor McGonagall mentioned Ellie, Snape glanced at her briefly. Why did she want to know that? Professor McGonagall and the girl were looking at him expectantly however, so he had no time to ponder the question.

"1971," he said curtly.

"1971?" Ellie repeated, and her face fell. So, the inscription on the diary had been right. Her mother had only been _sixteen_ when she was born.

Snape felt a pang of concern when he saw Ellie's disappointed look. He quickly dismissed the feeling however, and would have gladly left at that moment, but she addressed him directly, making any exit impossible.

"Did you know my mother then?" Ellie asked, looking up at him.

Snape hesitated. Professor McGonagall suddenly excused herself as someone else was calling for her attention. Snape cursed under his breath. He was now left alone with the girl.

"I was acquainted with her," Snape finally answered, hoping the child would accept this answer and leave him alone. No such luck though – she immediately followed up the question with another.

"Were you ever friends?" Ellie asked.

Snape considered how to answer this. They had been friends of course, and then so much more than that. He was not about to tell the child that though.

"She was in Gryffindor and I was in Slytherin," Snape told her, hoping she would infer an answer from this.

Ellie did. She nodded her head. Of course, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin would not be friends.

"Thank you Professor," she said, and gave him a grateful smile. Snape would have preferred it if she had not. The gesture made him feel uncomfortable. He nodded to her, turned on his heels and began to depart as quickly as possible, anxious to get away. He had not gotten far however when she called after him.

"Professor?"

He turned around.

"Did she… did she have a boyfriend at all that you knew of?" Ellie asked hesitantly.

Snape held his breath for a moment, panicking. What was the child getting at? He studied her face, and sighed in relief. There was no hint that she suspected the real truth.

For the first time, Snape was forced to lie to Ellie.

"No," he replied. She nodded her head.

"Okay, thanks," she said.

Snape turned around and walked away. When he was halfway down the corridor, he stopped and looked back. Ellie was still standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall, looking dejected. He felt his heart pang for a moment, but he shook his head and kept on walking.

"So, how did it go with McGonagall?"

Jamie had accosted her as soon as she walked into the common room and pulled her into a corner.

"She couldn't remember when my mum started, but she asked Snape and…" Ellie began.

"Snape?" Jamie exclaimed, interrupting her.

"Yes, Snape. He was in my mum's year apparently. Anyway, she started in 1971," Ellie continued.

"So if she was eleven in 1971…," Jamie said slowly.

"She was supposed to turn seventeen in 1977," Ellie finished. "Except she never did. She didn't make it that far," Ellie added in a small voice as she felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Jamie gave her a sympathetic look. He wasn't sure what to say.

"She was so young," Ellie said. "I wonder…" she began, but then trailed off.

"You wonder what?" Jamie asked.

Ellie sighed.

"I wonder… if it was my fault she died," Ellie said sadly.

"What?" Jamie exclaimed. "Of course it wasn't your fault! You were just a baby!"

"But then why did she die? Why won't Mrs. Manning tell me? What's the big secret? If it wasn't something to do with me, if she was just sick or something, then why won't anyone tell me?" Ellie cried.

"Because…" Jamie began, trying to think of something that would reassure Ellie that it wasn't her fault that her mother died.

"Because nobody wants to upset you by talking about it," Jamie finally said, knowing it sounded weak.

"You hear about it sometimes, women dying in childbirth. My mum died "right after" I was born, according to Mrs. Manning. I don't even know what that means! Did she die the same day? A few days later? Why won't anyone tell me! I have a right to know!"

"Well, what about Dumbledore?" Jamie said.

"Dumbledore?" Ellie replied, confused.

"Yeah, Dumbledore. You said he's the one who put you with Mrs. Manning. He must know everything that happened to your mum."

Ellie considered this. Jamie was right of course. Dumbledore must know what had happened if he had been the one to arrange for her to go to Mrs. Manning.

"Okay, I'll ask him," Ellie said.

"There's something else," Ellie added, hesitating slightly.

"What?" Jamie asked, curious.

"Well, if my mum was still at Hogwarts just before had me, that means… it means my father might be… my father might be someone she went to school with," Ellie said.

Jamie raised his eyebrows at this. Yes, it certainly seemed like the most plausible explanation.

"I asked Snape if he knew if my mum had a boyfriend, but he didn't," continued Ellie.

Jamie scoffed.

"Well he wouldn't, would he? If he was in Slytherin and your mum was in Gryffindor, he probably never even spoke to her, except to insult her."

"Yeah," Ellie agreed.

"So, do you want to find your dad?" Jamie asked slowly.

"My mum's family are all dead," Ellie stated. "Maybe somewhere out there I have a family, but I just don't know it."

Snape was glad when he reached his office. He locked the door and then collapsed in the chair at his desk. He had no doubt that Ellie's question about a boyfriend of her mother's was her way of trying to find out information about her father. He felt a pang of guilt as he recalled how he had lied to her. He almost pitied the girl. She was never going to find her father, not if he had anything to do with it. He felt immensely thankful that he and Claudia had kept their relationship a secret. The only person who could possibly realistically reveal the secret was Amelia Ryan. Dumbledore may suspect _something_, but he had no proof. As far as he knew, Amelia had emigrated to Australia soon after leaving Hogwarts, meaning she was well out of the way. Yes, there was no way for Ellie to possibly discover the truth, that he Severus Snape, was her father.


	15. An Accident

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Fifteen: An Accident**

Classes resumed in Hogwarts the next day. Ellie was glad to be back, but she found it hard to pay attention to what her professors were saying. Her thoughts were elsewhere - she knew she had to speak to Dumbledore to learn the truth about her mother, but she wasn't sure how she was going to go about it. Would she have to lie in wait for him the corridors, hoping he would show up at some point? Should she ask Professor McGonagall about how to approach Dumbledore? Even if she _knew_ how to find him the thought of actually speaking to him was daunting.

When classes broke for lunch and Ellie walked into the Great Hall with her classmates she saw Dumbledore sitting at the staff table. Could she possibly walk up to him and ask if she could have a chat with him? No! The idea of it was terrifying! She would see if she could talk to him in some other way before having to resort to getting up in front of the entire school to speak to him. While looking at the staff table she shifted her gaze to the left for a moment to take in Snape. It was a pity he didn't know more about her mother - she may dislike him but he was far easier to talk to than Dumbledore. Ellie still couldn't shake the feeling however that Snape had some kind of strange tie to her. His behaviour last term had certainly indicated something. Was he lying about not knowing her mother that well? Jamie's theory about Snape fancying her mother seemed more and more plausible the more she thought about it. Maybe that's why he didn't want to tell Ellie if her mother had a boyfriend at Hogwarts. Maybe he had been jealous? Ellie shuddered again at the thought of Snape lusting after mother. It made her more uncomfortable when she thought that she looked a lot like her mum too. Snape's stares were creepy enough now but imagine what they would be like in a few years? Ugh!

Ellie's last class of the day was potions with Snape and the Slytherins. Wonderful! It went better than Ellie had imagined however. For one thing, it was a relief to know she would not have to come back to the classroom after dinner to clean it up. For another thing the potion they were working on in class was the most complicated thing they had tried so far and Devin Farley and his cronies were too preoccupied with trying to mix their potions correctly to cause any trouble. Lastly, Snape completely ignored her in class. All things considered it was the best potions class she had ever had. Her potion had turned out perfectly too. If only every other class could go like this then potions could actually end up being one of her favourite subjects.

When Ellie and her classmates returned to their common room that evening, Chris and Thomas huddled themselves into a corner and began whispering furiously. Ellie, who was attempting her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework with Jamie, occasionally caught words like "he told me how to do it", "slimy Slytherins" and "serve him right". Ellie guessed they were cooking up some scheme to show up one or more of the Slytherins. Chris had been desperate to get at them somehow ever since their first potions class together. A few hours later, when Jamie and Ellie had cleared up their work, Ellie noticed Chris and Thomas exchanging satisfied grins. Whatever it was they were planning they were obviously very happy with it. Ellie could not help feeling curious about it. She hoped that whatever it was they were planning, she would be around to see it.

Ellie, and the rest of the Gryffindor first years, found out exactly what Chris and Thomas had been planning two days later. It was a fine day outside so many groups had formed outside on the grass near the lake. Some of the Slytherin first years were there, Devin Farley included. Ellie and Jamie had gone outside with everyone else and were lazing about under the shade of a big tree when Devin approached them.

"Enjoying yourself with your girlfriend Logan?" Devin asked Jamie, smirking. Jamie and Ellie both jumped up, and Jamie told him to, "Get lost." Devin merely sneered and then stepped up closer to Jamie. He had spotted Snape out of the corner of his eye and he suddenly had a plan to get Jamie into trouble again, along with possibly Ellie. Jamie and Ellie had their backs to where Snape was walking and Devin knew they couldn't see him.

Devin gave Jamie a light push, enough to annoy him without actually hurting him. Devin hoped Jamie would rise to the bait; he could see Snape glancing in their direction.

Jamie's eyes flashed angrily, but before he could react Ellie had pushed her way in between the two of them and she shoved Devin. He was taken by surprise at this and fell to the ground. The other students who saw this began to laugh at him. Devin's face went red, and he narrowed his eyes. He jumped up and pulled out his wand, aiming it at Ellie.

"You'll pay for that!" he yelled, but Chris shouted to him from behind Ellie, "I don't think so!" and shouted out a hex. Devin had barely spotted him when he realised Chris was casting a spell at him, and quickly he pushed Ellie in the way. The hex hit Ellie square in the back, and she was thrown fifteen feet in the air. Everyone looked on in horror, Chris in particular who had not expected the hex to be so powerful, and who had also meant it for Devin. Ellie was flipped over in the air and landed with a big thud several feet away. The other students rushed to her to see if she was okay.

Snape had noticed an altercation of some sort going on between Devin and Jamie and had turned a blind eye, but he heard someone shouting and he turned around in time to see Ellie being thrown threw the air and landing heavily on the ground. He rushed over immediately, his robes billowing around him, shoving students aside so he could get to her. A sudden panic had taken over him, and as he fought his way threw the crowd to Ellie he was struck with an inexplicable terror at the thought of her injured, or worse.

When he got closer to Ellie, he saw Jamie bending over her. He roughly pushed Jamie aside and scooped Ellie up off the floor. She was unconscious, and there was a deep cut on her forehead. Other students gasped at Ellie's death-like appearance as Snape rushed past them. The deep red blood trickling down Ellie's pale face made a stark and shocking contrast.

Jamie ran after Snape, not wanting to leave Ellie. They tore threw corridors and up staircases to the Hospital Wing. On the way Snape stormed past Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who were taken aback to see the injured girl in Snape's arms. The rushed after him, and Jamie almost collided with them in his haste to catch up to Snape.

Snape flew into the Hospital Wing, startling Madame Pomfrey.

"This girl has been injured," Snape panted, depositing Ellie carefully on an empty bed. Madame Pomfrey exclaimed when she saw Ellie's bloody face, and moved in closer to examine Ellie properly. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Jamie burst into the Hospital Wing together, and Dumbledore confronted Snape immediately.

"Severus, what happened?"

Snape was breathing heavily, both from exhaustion and from shock. It took him a moment before he was able to answer Dumbledore's question.

"There was some argument… someone hexed her… she fell," he breathed.

"Who was responsible?" Professor McGonagall asked. Snape opened his mouth to reply when he noticed Jamie standing just behind Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"You!" he snarled, pointing directly at Jamie.

"I didn't do anything!" Jamie protested, as Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall turned on him and frowned.

"I think perhaps we should step outside and have a chat Mr. Logan," Professor McGonagall said.

"I want to stay with Ellie!" Jamie cried, and Snape scoffed. Jamie glared at him and opened his mouth to yell at Snape but Professor McGonagall grasped him firmly by the shoulders and ushered him out, telling him he could come back later.

Left alone while Madame Pomfrey attended to Ellie, Dumbledore cast a long glance at Snape. He saw that Snape's hands were shaking, and he wore a worried expression as he stared at Ellie.

A moment later Madame Pomfrey turned to the two men.

"She's alright. She has a nasty gash on the side of her head and she'll probably have a bit of a concussion when she wakes up, but there are no bones broken," she told them.

Snape sighed, feeling immensely relieved. His relief was quickly replaced with discomfort as he became aware of Dumbledore shooting him another curious glance.

"Well, I have things to do," said Snape hastily, and made a beeline for the door. Dumbledore watched him leave, a thoughtful look on his face.

Professor McGonagall had taken Jamie just outside the door.

"So Mr. Logan, can you tell me exactly what happened?" Professor McGonagall asked Jamie.

"Farley came over making stupid comments. It was his fault," Jamie said. Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"Really? That's the full story is it?" she asked, giving him a piercing look.

"Well… no," Jamie admitted.

"So…?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Farley pushed me, so Ellie shoved him back and he got angry. He took out his wand, but then someone cast a spell at him. He shoved Ellie in the way though so the spell hit her instead of him."

"Who cast the spell?"

"I don't know, I couldn't see," Jamie said, truthfully. He had not seen that it was Chris who cast the spell as he had been standing with his back to him.

Professor McGonagall looked at him for a moment, considering him. She finally concluded that she believed him.

"You can go Mr. Logan," she told him.

"What? No! I want to see she's okay!" Jamie shouted.

At that moment the doors to the Hospital Wing burst open and Snape hurried out, his robes swishing about him. He didn't even look at Professor McGonagall and Jamie as he strode past them. Professor McGonagall looked after him with a look of confusion, but then turned back to Jamie.

"You will do as I say Mr. Logan," she told Jamie, sternly.

"Please Professor McGonagall! Let me see her!" Jamie pleaded.

Professor McGonagall's heart softened. She relented.

"Fine. Let me check with Madame Pomfrey first," she told him, and walked back into the Hospital Wing. She emerged a moment later and beckoned to him to come in.

As Jamie approached Ellie's bed Madame Pomfrey told him he could only stay a minute. Jamie was relieved to see that Ellie looked okay. Madame Pomfrey had cleaned up the blood and put a plaster over her cut. Although she was sleeping, she was breathing steadily. Dumbledore was watching over her on the other side of the bed. Jamie almost chuckled to himself when he remembered that Ellie was desperate to talk to Dumbledore. If he was still here when she woke up then it would be very easy for her to ask him about her mother.

Madame Pomfrey came over to him and told him he would have to leave. He begged for permission to come back later to see Ellie and Madame Pomfrey told him he could. Dumbledore looked up and gave him a smile before he left. Jamie felt comforted by this gesture, and left the Hospital Wing feeling confident that Ellie would be fine.

"Did you discover the identity of the culprit?" Dumbledore asked Professor McGonagall softly.

"No, Mr. Logan didn't see who cast the spell. I'll find out though. Someone must have seen it."

Snape sat down his bed, feeling shaken, his brow dampened with sweat. It had been a shock to see Ellie in such a condition. When he saw her hurtling to the ground he was immediately reminded of Claudia. She had died after her fall. What if Ellie had…

He winced at the thought, and sighed heavily. It was more difficult than he had been willing to admit before to separate his feelings for Claudia from Ellie. They were intrinsically linked. Seeing Ellie in danger had sent his world crashing down on him for a few brief moments.

"Pathetic," he spat at himself, a sudden rage rising up within him. He pictured Ellie in his head and felt he hated her now more than ever for having stirred such weak feelings. He stood up, and began to prowl about his room, his breathing getting heavier and heavier, the anger he felt becoming more intense. He lashed out suddenly, and sent the few items that were scattered on his desk crashing to the floor. He felt like roaring. That girl was making a fool out of him. This was it - the last straw. From now on, the girl was nothing to him, _nothing_. If she wanted to find herself on the wrong side of a hex she could. If she wanted to get herself _killed_ she could. He didn't care. He wanted nothing more to do with her. She was ruining his life, shattering his peace of mind. Not anymore however. No, he was determined to erase her past from his mind. He would drive himself insane at this rate if he didn't.

From now on, he was going to forget he even knew the name "Winterbourne" before the brat came to the school.


	16. Talk with Dumbledore

**Author's Notes: caleb **and **Angharad Marared Rhodri Gwynedd**, paternal instinct is a strong thing. Snape was thoroughly disgusted with himself afterwards however. I wonder will he take it out in Ellie later on? ;-)

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter Series is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Sixteen: Talk with Dumbledore**

When Ellie awoke, she was aware of a light buzzing noise around her. She opened her eyes slowly and tried to sit up. Everything looked blurry to her and her head felt heavy. She felt hands on her, gently easing her back down. The buzzing noise got louder. Slowly, the buzzing faded, and was replaced by the sound of people talking. Her vision became clearer also, and she made out two figures, one standing on either side of her, talking to each other over her head. As the figures came into focus she realised they were Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore.

Ellie felt confused. Where was she? Why did her head hurt her so much? She attempted to speak, but all that came out was an incoherent mumble. It got the adults attention though, and they stopped speaking and turned to face her.

"Where…," Ellie muttered, attempting to speak again. Madame Pomfrey moved closer to her.

"What's that dear?"

"Where am I?" Ellie managed to say.

"You're in the Hospital Wing. You had a bit of an accident, but don't worry, you're fine. I dare say you have a bit of a headache though, hmm?" Madame Pomfrey told her gently.

Ellie nodded her head slightly, but then winced as a sharp pain shot through her skull.

"Try not to move dear. You'll feel better soon," Madame Pomfrey said.

Ellie muttered a reply and closed her eyes, making her feel better. She heard Dumbledore's voice, although she couldn't make out what he was saying. She vaguely recalled that she wanted to talk to Dumbledore for some reason, but she couldn't think why. Slowly the sounds around her began to sound further and further away, until eventually she could hear them no more.

The next time Ellie awoke, she was much more alert. She sat up and looked around, making out the rest of the room easily. She could only just remember the conversation she had with Madame Pomfrey before. The details of what had happened were beginning to come back to her, and she was able to piece together why she was here.

Someone had aimed a hex at Devin, but he had pushed her into its path instead. The voice that shouted the spell sounded familiar, although Ellie couldn't place it. She began to wonder how long she had been here, and looked around for Madame Pomfrey.

The room was empty, apart from her. Ellie debated whether to call out. The creak of the big double doors at the end of the room made the decision for her. It wasn't Madame Pomfrey however, it was Professor Dumbledore.

Ellie felt slightly alarmed when she saw him. She had never spoken to him before and although she had only heard good things about him (well, apart from Mrs. Manning's first outburst about him); he was still a very daunting sight. Dumbledore seemed to sense her anxiety however, and he offered her a warm smile. This put Ellie at ease immediately, although she could not help but look at him in awe as he approached her.

"Well my dear, are you feeling better?" he asked in a kindly voice as he took a seat beside her bed..

"Yes sir," she said.

"Good," he said, giving her another smile. Ellie smiled back and then dipped her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Your classmates have been very concerned about you from what I've heard – particularly young Mr. Logan," he continued. Ellie felt even more embarrassed, and began to blush. Dumbledore chuckled to himself.

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked her.

"Mostly. I remember Devin coming up, and I remember… I remember pushing him," she admitted, blushing again. She half-expected Dumbledore to reprimand her but he remained silent, so she continued.

"Then Devin took out his wand, but someone else cast a spell from behind me. I didn't see who. I remember feeling like someone had just punched me in the back, but that's about it. I suppose it must have been a good spell," Ellie finished, smiling wryly as the last sentence.

Dumbledore laughed.

"Yes, it was a good spell. Too good by all accounts. Young Chris Dunne, for it was his spell, had no idea it would be so powerful. He learned about it from his older brother over Christmas apparently. I have had words with the brother about being careful with what he teaches his younger brother in future."

"I wonder if that's what Chris and Thomas were talking about the other day?" Ellie wondered to herself.

"What exactly did the spell do?" Ellie asked, curious.

"It threw you high up into the air, and as you know Eleanora, what comes up must usually come down. You hit the ground with quite a thud I'd imagine," Dumbledore told her. Ellie laughed suddenly at the image of her being thrown up in the air. Dumbledore looked at her, amused.

"Well, no harm done. I hope Chris didn't get into trouble over it," Ellie said, recovering from her laughing fit.

"I'm afraid he is spending some time in detention with Professor McGonagall for the rest of the week," Dumbledore admitted.

"Everyone knows I'm okay though, right?" Ellie said, thinking of Jamie.

"There were some rumours floating about, but Professor McGonagall saw to it that your classmates knew you were in fact still alive, I can assure you. Thankfully Professor Snape was able to get you to the Hospital Wing quickly enough for Madame Pomfrey to see to that," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. Ellie however, looked startled.

"Professor Snape?" she asked, frowning.

"Yes, Professor Snape. He happened to be nearby when you ah, _fell_, and carried you to the Hospital Wing immediately," Dumbledore replied. Noting the surprised look on Ellie's face he added, "That surprises you?"

"Well, yeah," Ellie admitted.

"Would you expect Professor Snape to simply walk away from an injured student?" Dumbledore asked.

Ellie thought about this, and then felt stupid.

"No, of course not," she said, and Dumbledore nodded.

Ellie still felt a bit strange about the idea of Snape carrying her to the Hospital Wing though. Talk about awkward! At least she had been unconscious! She would never be able to look him in the eye again after this.

Thinking about Snape made Ellie think about her mother for some reason. She remembered that she had wanted to talk to Dumbledore about her. She couldn't let the opportunity slip past now that he was here.

"Professor Dumbledore, could I ask you some questions about… my mum?" she said, feeling nervous but also excited.

"Of course," he replied.

"How did she die?" Ellie asked quietly.

"Ah. You were never told?" Dumbledore asked, and Ellie shook her head.

"She had an accident. She fell down a long staircase. She died from her injuries," Dumbledore said, a sad note in his voice.

"Oh," said Ellie, surprised. That was not what she had expected at all.

"So it wasn't…" she began.

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"It wasn't my fault?" Ellie finished, looking doubtful.

"No, of course it wasn't," Dumbledore told her firmly. Ellie sighed with relief.

"So it happened right after I was born?" Ellie asked, curious.

Dumbledore hesitated.

"Actually, it happened the night you were born. You see, your mother was still pregnant when she fell," Dumbledore explained.

Ellie looked at him, confused.

"But… but if she died… then why didn't…?" Ellie began, agitated.

"Why didn't you die?" Dumbledore finished. Ellie nodded.

"It's a hard question to answer. The healers at St. Mungo's managed to save you while your mother died. I don't think there is a real answer to that question, except that life can sometimes seem _very_ unfair."

Ellie felt some tears running down her cheeks, and turned her head away from Dumbledore, feeling embarrassed. Dumbledore patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"I do know one thing Eleanora. Your mother would be very proud of you if she could see you today. You've grown into a fine young witch." Ellie looked up at Dumbledore gratefully as he said this. Somehow, it made her feel better. Dumbledore gazed at her with a kindly smile, and then stood up.

"And now my dear, I must leave you to rest," he told her, and she nodded, brushing the tears away from her face. He began to walk away but stopped when he reached the door.

"If you ever want to talk to me about your mother, or anything else," he called back to her, "don't hesitate to ask." He gave her one more smile, and then left.


	17. Back to Class

**Disclaimer: **TheHarry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Seventeen: Back to Class**

Ellie was able to return to her common room that evening. When she walked through the portrait hole Jamie rushed at her and engulfed her in a big bear hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay"!" he said, squeezing her. After he released her Ellie found herself being hugged by the other Gryffindor first year girls, one after the other. It left her feeling quite breathless. The first year boys crowded around her, asking her if she felt okay. Chris hung back however, feeling guilty. Ellie noticed him, and pushed past the crowd that encircled her and approached Chris.

Chris looked at her nervously, shuffling his feet and rubbing one elbow with his other arm. He swallowed, and tried to speak.

"I er... I…" he began, his face red. Ellie took pity on him. She didn't blame him for the accident, and quickly put his mind at ease.

"It's okay," she told him. "I heard it was a wicked spell. Too bad it didn't hit Devin," she said grinning.

Chris grinned back, relieved that Ellie wasn't angry with him.

"I had no idea it would be so strong. My brother told me it just threw people back a few feet. I thought it would be funny to use on Farley any time he came near a Gryffindor."

"That's a good plan," she said, her eyes twinkling, and the others laughed.

"McGonagall didn't think it was though. She'd go mad if we tried to use the spell now," Chris said, a twinge of regret in his voice.

"You should have seen Snape," Helen suddenly said. Ellie turned to face her, curious.

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"He stormed through everyone to get to you, shoving them away. He looked really worried. He must have thought you were really hurt," she said.

"We all did really," Amy added.

"I've never seen Snape look worried before. I guess it proves he is Human after all," Helen said.

"So he's not a vampire then?" Ellie asked, smiling.

"Well, probably not," Helen admitted.

"I wonder will Snape be nicer to you now that you've had a near death experience?" mused Thomas.

Ellie thought about it for a moment.

"Nah," she said finally. "He'll probably be annoyed it was only a _near_ death experience!"

Ellie spent most of the weekend in the Gryffindor tower, catching up on the work she had missed. Jamie stayed with her, trying to help her, although _she_ was the one who ended up helping _him_ with most of the homework they had been set in their classes that week.

When Ellie went back to class on Monday, she ran into Devin. He glared at her, but said nothing. Ellie noticed that in general the Slytherins were keeping to themselves and not trying to annoy the Gryffindors the way they usually did. Ellie didn't have Potions that day, and she avoided looking in Snape's direction at mealtimes in case she caught his eye. She cringed every time she thought about Snape carrying her. She could imagine him sneering at her the next time he saw her, and she wanted to put off that moment for as long as possible. Helen's comment that he had appeared worried about her had startled her for a moment, but then Dumbledore's comment about him helping any injured student came back to her, putting her at ease.

She was unable to avoid Snape forever unfortunately. The next day her first class was Potions with Snape. She and Jamie got there early and took their usual seat near the front. The rest of the class filtered in around them. She noticed Devin giving her and Jamie a nasty look but she ignored him.

The door was flung open and Snape stormed in and up to the front of the class. He began bellowing out the instructions for the potion they would be mixing that day. He did not look at Ellie at all while he spoke, much to her relief.

A while later and as usual, Ellie had brewed her potion without any trouble. She was quite proud of her effort in fact, and watched her potion bubbling with a smile on her face. Snape, who had been walking about the class to inspect their efforts, came to a stop in front of her. She expected him to offer her some praise for her work, but instead he gave her cold stare and said, "Passable, I suppose," with a look of distain on his face. As he moved off Ellie scoffed indignantly to herself and couldn't help sticking out her tongue at his back. She felt better for a second, but then Snape said casually, "Five points from Gryffindor Miss Winterbourne," and continued walking.

How did he know! Did he have eyes in the back of his head or something?

She was glad when class was over. Before she left Snape gave her another cold glare. She complained to Jamie as she left the class.

"Honestly, there's something creepy about that guy. How can he know about things happening behind his back?" she wondered, feeling angry with herself for losing Gryffindor points.

"Don't waste your time worrying about him. He's a prat anyway. It was obvious your potion was the best in the class," Jamie said, consoling her.

"Yeah, you're right. He is a stupid prat," Ellie said.

"Ten points from Gryffindor Miss Winterbourne," a familiar voice said coolly, and Snape glided past them. Ellie glared after him, feeling the urge to suddenly hit something.

"Ten points from Gryffindor Miss Winterbourne," Ellie mimicked in a silly voice when she and Jamie were in the common room later. Jamie laughed.

"I suppose I did deserve it," Ellie admitted, "But the way he says it. He takes such pleasure in it. Ugh!" she continued.

"Plus he's really unfair in class. Did you hear him telling Devin how good his potion was? Bah!" Jamie muttered.

"Maybe it makes him feel important," Ellie said.

Jamie seemed struck by this idea.

"Maybe he's jealous?"

"Jealous of what?" Ellie asked, confused.

"Of you! Of your fantastic potion-making skills!" Jamie said, grinning.

Ellie scoffed at this.

"No, I think he's just an _idiot_ Jamie," Ellie said, smiling.

Jamie laughed.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Besides, Snape was probably top of his class in Potions when he went here. He seems like the type," Elle admitted.

"I wonder what he _was_ like when he went here?" Jamie wondered aloud.

"Why don't you ask him?" Ellie said, grinning. They both looked at each other and laughed.

"Yeah, that would go down really well!" Jamie replied.

"It is strange though, thinking of Snape at school, knowing he was in my mum's year. I don't know whether I'm disappointed or relieved that he didn't know her that well," Ellie said. Jamie looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

"Disappointed he can't tell me anything about her, but relieved my mum had better taste than to hang out with someone like him," she clarified. Jamie nodded.

"You know, it's a pity you don't know any of your mum's old school friends," Jamie said casually. Ellie looked at him for a moment, a suddenly idea forming in her head. She jumped up and smacked Jamie on the back.

"Jamie, you're a genius!" she cried.

"Um, thanks…?" said Jamie, confused.

"Don't you see?" Ellie asked, her eyes shining.

"Not really, no," Jamie admitted.

"I can ask Professor McGonagall, or maybe Dumbledore, if they can put me in touch with some of my mum's old friends! Then maybe… oh maybe Jamie, they'll be able to tell me who my dad is!" Ellie said, her hands shaking with excitement.

"That's a brilliant plan!" Jamie said, jumping up from his seat.

"I'm gonna go and see McGonagall right now!" Ellie declared, rushing towards the portrait hole.

"Hey, wait for me!" Jamie called, running after her.

Ellie raced threw the corridors in her haste to talk to Professor McGonagall. Jamie panted as he tried to keep up with her. When Ellie tore around a corner however, she came to an abrupt stop as she bumped into a tall figure dressed in black. Gulping, she looked up and saw Snape's cold eyes glaring down at her.

"Oh, er, sorry Professor; didn't see you there" she said and tried to lighten the situation with an awkward laugh. Snape continued to glower at her, causing her laugh to trail off. Before Snape could speak, Jamie came hurtling around the corner and crashed into Ellie. Ellie, who was not as solid as Snape, was propelled forwards into Snape. Instinctively, Snape held out his arms and caught her, and then ripped his hands away from her immediately, as if she repulsed him.

He gave them both piercing glares, which caused them both to recoil with discomfort.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, _each_," he said slowly.

"And if I catch either of you running through the school like this again, it will be twenty points," he added with a sneer.

"Yes sir," they replied meekly together. He gave them both one last glare and then left.

They both looked after him for a moment.

"Well, all things considered, it could have been worse," Jamie offered, shrugging his shoulders. Ellie laughed in spite of herself.

"True," she chuckled.

They continued on their way to Professor McGonagall's office, this time walking rather than running. When they got there Ellie rapped smartly on the door, and a voice from the other side called out, "Come in!" Taking a deep breath, Ellie opened the door and stepped inside. Jamie followed her and pushed the door closed behind him.

"Mr. Logan, Miss Winterbourne. What can I do for you?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking up at them from her desk.

"I was wondering, Professor, if you would be able to help me get in touch with some of my mum's old school friends?" Ellie asked.

Professor McGonagall seemed surprised by this request.

"I see," she said slowly. She paused a moment, and then added, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you Professor!" Ellie said, delighted. She grinned at Jamie, who grinned back.

"Now is that all?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes, that's it," Ellie replied.

"Alright. You had better get back to your common room. I'll let you know what I can find," Professor McGonagall said to Ellie.

When Ellie walked out of Professor McGonagall's office, she felt like squealing, she was so excited.

"This could be it Jamie!" she said, rubbing her hands together.

"Hold on, don't get your hopes up just yet. Wait and see what McGonagall says," Jamie warned her.

Professor McGonagall thought about it, and after a while remembered that Claudia's best friend had been another Gryffindor girl by the name of Amelia Ryan. She remembered that Amelia had moved to Australia after leaving Hogwarts. After some searching, Professor McGonagall found an address for Amelia's family. She wrote them an owl asking for Amelia's address and sent it off.

A few days later, she got a reply from Amelia's mother, with the last known address for Amelia. Professor McGonagall wrote another owl, this time explaining to Amelia that Ellie would like to get in touch with her. Professor McGonagall had decided it would be best for her to make contact with Amelia herself first, in case Amelia did not want to talk to Ellie.

Ellie had been waiting impatiently for days to hear something from Professor McGonagall. After every Transfiguration class, she would ask Professor McGonagall if she had any news, and each time she was disappointed when Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"I'm beginning to think I'll never hear anything," Ellie told Jamie glumly. "Each time I think I'm close it doesn't work out, like with the diary and with Snape. I'm beginning to wonder if my mother actually existed," she continued, sighing.

"You just have to give Professor McGonagall time Ellie. She'll find out something for you," Jamie told her.

"I hope so," Ellie muttered to herself. "I hope so."


	18. An Appalling Student

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter series is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Eighteen: An Appalling Student**

Two months passed and Professor McGonagall did not hear anything from Amelia Ryan. Eventually she had to break the bad news to Ellie.

"I'm sorry Miss Winterbourne," she told her.

Ellie felt bitterly disappointed. Yet again, she had been let down, just when she felt she was getting somewhere.

She was quiet for the next few days. Jamie tried to cheer her up but he didn't have much of an effect. He began to feel very worried about her. One day after Transfigurations, he hung back at the end so he could talk to Professor McGonagall.

"Isn't there someone else?" he asked desperately.

"She was a quiet girl," Professor McGonagall told him. "She was wrapped up with her studies mostly. She took her schoolwork very seriously. When she wasn't working she was usually with Amelia."

Something suddenly occurred to Professor McGonagall that she had completely forgotten about.

"Well of course there was Severus… Professor Snape that is. I believe he was helping her out with her Potions work. "

Jamie looked stunned.

"Wait, you're saying that Ellie's mum hung out with Professor _Snape_?"

"Well no, I wouldn't say that exactly. But I do recall seeing them together quite a lot now that I'm thinking about it, and Professor Slughorn, the former Potions Master, told me that Professor Snape was giving her help with Potions," Professor McGonagall explained.

"Okay, thanks Professor," he told her and hurried off to his next class.

This was definitely surprising news. Hadn't Snape told Ellie that he barely knew her mum? And now it turns out her was helping her out in Potions class. That means they must have spent _some_ time together!

Jamie couldn't wait to give Ellie this new information. After their afternoon classes, before they went into dinner, Jamie pulled Ellie aside and told her.

Ellie stared opened mouthed when Jamie told her.

"Ellie, you alright?" Jamie asked finally.

"That lying little… he told me he didn't really know her!" said Ellie, fuming.

"So, are you gonna ask him about it?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, I am. Straight after dinner," she told him, a determined look on her face.

Several times during dinner, Snape felt that someone was watching him. Each time he looked up, he saw the brat glaring at him. He glared coldly back. By the end of the meal, they had had quite a staring contest between them.

Ellie waited a while, giving Snape time to get to his office. Then, telling Jamie she would see him in the common room later, she took off towards the dungeons.

When she got to Snape's office, her heart faltered for a moment as she raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Suck it up El," she told herself, and rapped sharply on the door. There was silence for a moment and then a voice from within called out, "Enter,". Ellie took a deep breath and sauntered through the door and right up to Snape's desk.

Snape was genuinely surprised to see Ellie. He was expecting Roger Andrews, a fifth year Slytherin who, by his class records, was on course to fail most of his OWLs. Snape was going to give the boy a stern talking to, and so the sight of a very agitated looking Eleanora Winterbourne in front of him, her fists clenched by her sides, was very unexpected, although it could account for her staring at dinner.

"What do you want?" he snapped at her.

Her eyes were narrowed and she gave a cold, piercing look that, under different circumstances, Snape may perhaps have been proud of. Things being as they were however, he frowned at her.

"Well?" he bellowed. He wanted to get rid of the brat as soon as possible.

"You lied to me!" Ellie suddenly said in a quiet, shaky voice.

Snape rolled his eyes. Another whiny tantrum from the brat. How wonderful. She really was a father's dream.

"Did I?" he said in a bored voice. This fuelled Ellie's anger even more.

"Yes, you did!" she cried.

Snape merely looked at her and yawned.

"Well then, my _apologies_ Miss Winterbourne. Now if you don't mind I…"

"Yes, I do mind, actually! You said you didn't really know my mum, but you were helping her in her Potions class! Why didn't you tell me that?" Ellie yelled.

Snape started, but hastily covered it up by glaring at Ellie.

"Oh that," he said, inwardly fuming that the brat had somehow found about it, and also panicking slightly at what else she may have heard.

"Yes that!" Ellie said.

Snape scoffed.

"If you must know Miss Winterbourne, and it seems you _must_, your mother was failing miserably at Potions and our Professor begged me to give her extra lessons so she wouldn't totally embarrass herself when it came time for her to take her NEWTs. Satisfied?" he sneered.

It had cost him a pang to speak with so scathingly of Claudia, but he let no trace of it show in his hard expression.

Ellie was taken aback by Snape's explanation. She felt deflated, and disappointed.

"Oh," was all she could say for a moment. Snape smirked at her, feeling she deserved this letdown.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" Ellie asked.

"You seem to have a very high opinion of both yourself and your mother, judging by the way you throw your weight around, demanding left, right and centre that everyone who has ever passed your mother in the street relay all her deepest, darkest secrets to you," Snape said.

Ellie looked angrily at him, but a hint of embarrassment was noticeable too.

"I pitied you," Snape added in mocking tone. "I thought you might have felt ashamed to know that your mother was such an appallingly bad scholar that she needed _my_ help."

Snape fixed his cold gaze against Ellie's fiery glare. Their eyes remained locked for some time, until Ellie had to concede defeat and look away. She felt as if she never wanted to look at Snape again.

"Now Miss Winterbourne, if you are quite finished, I am expecting a student. Shut the door after you," he said coolly, and began to peruse a roll of parchment.

Ellie turned away from Snape and walked out of his office, shutting the door softly. She would not give him the satisfaction of banging it. On the way out of the dungeons, an older Slytherin boy bumped into her, knocking her to the ground. The boy helped her up, apologising.

"Sorry, it's just I'm late to see Professor Snape!" he said, hurrying off.

Ellie trudged dejectedly up the stairs until she came to the Gryffindor tower. She mumbled the password to the Fat Lady and walked into the common room. Jamie was at her side immediately, giving her a searching look. She shook her head, letting him know that she hadn't discovered anything useful.

They sat down in their usual corner.

"Go on, what happened?" Jamie asked.

"Well, apparently my mum was really bad at Potions and Snape was only helping her because the Potions Professor told him to," she said.

"Oh," said Jamie, sharing Ellie's disappointment.

"I think I've finally hit a brick wall," Ellie admitted. "I don't think I'll ever find out who my father is. I mean, for all I know, it could be Filch."

Jamie snorted suddenly. Ellie, seeing the humour in what she had just said, began to laugh. They both collapsed against each other chuckling at the thought of Filch being her dad.

"Oh well Ellie, think about it. It could be worse. Imagine Snape turned out to be your dad," Jamie said, a wicked grin on his face. The duo collapsed against each other again, shaking with laughter. They continued to have fits of giggles that lasted until they eventually said goodnight to each other and headed up to their dormitories.

The rest of the school year seemed to fly by for Ellie. Before she knew it the end of term exams were over, and she was packing up her trunk to go home again.

She exchanged addresses with other Gryffindors, said farewell to the Gryffindor tower that had been her home for ten months and waved goodbye to the Professors that came to see the students off on the Hogwarts Express. As usual, Ellie sat with Jamie on the train journey to London, joined by some other Gryffindor first years.

When they got to London, Mrs. Manning was standing waiting for Ellie. Ellie was shocked by her appearance. She looked much older and frailer than she had at Christmas. Had she been ill? Ellie had written to Mrs. Manning during the term but Mrs. Manning had never mentioned anything.

"Well now, I hope you had a good year my dear," Mrs. Manning said, in a kinder voice than Ellie was used to.

"Yes, I did," Ellie told her.

Just then, someone tapped her on the back. She turned around and saw Jamie, with his parents standing in the background. While Jamie's parents and Mrs. Manning exchanged greetings, Jamie whispered to Ellie.

"Don't forget to write to me, okay?" he told her, giving her a warm smile.

"I won't," she whispered back.

Ellie felt a pang of sadness when she waved goodbye to Jamie. He had become her best friend at Hogwarts, and she would miss him terribly during the two months of summer holidays. She couldn't wait for the holiday to be over so she could go back to Hogwarts and be with Jamie again. Her first year had been eventful, and she had gotten into trouble here and there, but at Hogwarts, she finally felt like she belonged. Giving one last longing look at the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters, Ellie followed Mrs. Manning out of the train station, counting down the days already until she would be there again.


	19. Taken Ill

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Nineteen: Taken Ill**

The summer holidays seemed to pass by very slowly for Ellie. Mrs. Manning's health didn't improve, and Ellie found herself doing more around the house than ever. Ellie learned from old Mrs. Dunne across the street that Mrs. Manning had had a mild stroke last February. This news shocked Ellie. It suddenly hit home to her how old Mrs. Manning was getting. They did not always get along that well, but Mrs. Manning was the only family Ellie had. She did not want to think about what would happen if Mrs. Manning died.

On her birthday, for the first time in her life, Ellie had a lot of post. Her Hogwarts friends had not forgotten her. Ellie was most surprised when Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Manning's sister arrived with a big chocolate cake under her arm. It wasn't that Mrs. Collins had come to visit that surprised her so much, she had met Mrs. Collins a few times – it was that Mrs. Collins arrived with a flash of green light in the fireplace! Ellie had been startled when Mrs. Collins swung a stocking covered leg over the grate and beckoned Ellie over to help her get out. When Mrs. Collins had managed to get the rest of herself out of the fireplace and dust the soot off her travelling coat, she gave Ellie a kiss and wished her a happy birthday. Ellie just gawped back at her.

"What's wrong dear, is it Olivia?" she asked, alarmed.

"No, it's just… did you just come out of the _fireplace_?" Ellie asked, awestruck.

"Oh yes, floo powder is a much more convenient way to travel than the train," Mrs. Collins replied.

"Floo powder?" Ellie asked, mystified.

"What, you've never heard of floo powder? What do they teach you at that school?" Mrs. Collins said, shaking her head.

Mrs. Manning hobbled into the room at that moment and Mrs. Collins set down the parcel that had been under her arm and greeted her sister.

"Olivia dear, hope you don't mind me paying a visit. I decided to use the floo network since I knew it wouldn't shock Eleanora. Or at least, I didn't think it would…"

When Mrs. Collins unwrapped her parcel and produced the chocolate birthday cake Ellie had at first been afraid that Mrs. Manning would not let her have any. Mrs. Manning surprised her however by not protesting. Altogether, it was a good birthday for Ellie. Mrs. Collins stayed with them for a few days, and took Ellie to Diagon Alley to get her new school supplies, as Mrs. Manning was not feeling up to the travel.

The rest of the summer went by and soon 1 September rolled around. Mrs. Collins arrived again to take Ellie to Kings Cross Station. Ellie was starting to feel alarmed at how weak Mrs. Manning had become. Before she left, Ellie gave Mrs. Manning a hug, which Mrs. Manning didn't fight.

"I'll see you at Christmas, and I'll write to you," Ellie told her.

Mrs. Collins deposited Ellie at the train station safely, and watched her go through the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters. Ellie looked around for Jamie, but he was nowhere in sight. She had arrived before him. Ellie looked about for an empty compartment, and stowed her trunk away safely. She hung her head out the window, looking for Jamie. She spotted him a few minutes later. He saw her already in the train and hurried up with his trunk. Soon Jamie was settled on the train too, after saying goodbye to his parents. Helen and Thomas soon joined them, and the train began to pull out of the station.

"Had a good summer?" Helen asked everyone. Thomas began to talk enthusiastically about a safari he and his parents had gone on.

While Thomas was talking, Jamie noticed Ellie's subdued expression.

"You okay?" he whispered to Ellie.

"Yeah, it's just Mrs. Manning. She's still ill. I'm worried about her," Ellie whispered back.

When they got to the school, Ellie felt a wave of happiness wash over her. It felt good to be back at Hogwarts. Watching the new first years being sorted into their houses was fun, and Ellie enjoyed hearing stories of what everyone had gotten up to during the summer.

Once, in the middle of the feast, Ellie looked up at the staff table and allowed her eyes to wander to Snape. He seemed to sense her and looked up at her. They shared a brief stare, and then both looked away.

There were no classes for the next two days as it was the weekend. Jamie and Ellie spent their time exploring the castle and the grounds a bit more. On Sunday afternoon, while lying out near the lake, Devin Farley and his friends came over to "welcome" them back to Hogwarts.

"Going to give us any more flying demonstrations this year Winterbourne?" Devin asked Ellie, and his friends snickered. Jamie and Ellie exchanged a glance. They had already decided that Devin wasn't worth getting into trouble over.

"I dunno. You gonna be a big pest again this year? I hear there's a cream for that now," Ellie said nonchalantly. This time Jamie snickered. Devin glared at them both.

"You'll keep," he said to them both, and stormed off, followed by his friends.

Monday came and classes began. The last class of the day was double Potions with the Slytherins again. As usual, after everyone was seated Snape made a dramatic entrance and burst threw the door, his robes billowing around him. Ellie wanted to laugh as he strode up to the front of the room and quickly turned around to face the class. Snape was starting to become a tad predicable. In fact, Ellie could already guess how the lesson would go. No matter how well any Gryffindor made their potions Snape would merely sneer at them. The Slytherins would receive praise for managing to get their cauldrons onto the tables in front of them. True that was a mighty feat for one or two of them, but Snape's obvious favouritism towards the Slytherins was not something that Ellie would allow to annoy her this year. There was nothing she could do about it.

True enough, Ellie's potion was the only one to give off the aluminous purple colour that Snape had informed them their potions should be by the end of class. However, when Snape glanced at it, for a moment, Ellie could swear there was a hint of pride in his expression, but he had moved on so suddenly that she could not be sure.

Most of the winter term passed by without incident. Ellie managed to keep out of trouble, even Snape could not complain about her much. She and Jamie avoided Devin as much as possible. She still worried about Mrs. Manning, particularly at the beginning of December when she had not received a reply to a letter she had sent three weeks ago. That was not like Mrs. Manning. Jamie tried to assure her that everything was all right, but even he was worried.

Ellie's worst fears were confirmed when Professor McGonagall came into the Gryffindor common room one evening, looking for her. Ellie knew from the grave expression on her face that it was not good news.

Professor McGonagall took her to Dumbledore's office without saying a word. Ellie had never seen Dumbledore's office, and marvelled briefly at the moving staircase that was concealed behind a statue.

When the got to the top, a door stood in front of them. Professor McGonagall knocked and a voice inside called out for them to come in. Seeing Ellie inside, Professor McGonagall gave her a comforting smile and then left Ellie alone with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gestured to Ellie to take a seat.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," he told her gently. Ellie bit her lower lip.

"It's Mrs. Manning, isn't it?" Ellie asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"She's had a very bad stroke. Her sister sent me an owl to inform me. She is in a muggle hospital."

Ellie felt like she was going to cry, but fought it.

"Is she going to be okay?" she asked.

Dumbledore sighed before answering.

"I'm afraid I don't know," he said. There was a brief silence between them as Ellie took the news in.

"Would you like to go and visit her?" Dumbledore asked.

"Can I?" Ellie said, surprised.

"Yes, of course you can," he told her.

Ellie felt slightly better. She nodded her head to Dumbledore.

"Yes, I want to see her," she said.

"Ah. Well then. Go back to your dormitory and change into some muggle clothing. I shall meet you in the Entrance Hall in half an hour."

"Are _you_ going with me?" Ellie asked in amazement.

Dumbledore chuckled.

"If you don't mind," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Ellie blushed.

"No, of course I don't mind," she told him.

"Good. Now run along, and remember – Entrance Hall, half an hour."

Less than half an hour later Ellie was standing in the Entrance Hall, without her robes on. She had some of her muggle clothes on instead. She got some queer looks from other students. Snape appeared from a corridor and stopped in front of her, giving her a searching stare.

"I'm meeting Dumbledore," Ellie answered, before Snape could even ask.

"Severus!" Dumbledore's voice could be heard as he approached Ellie and Snape.

Snape scowled. He did not like anyone calling him by his first name in front of his students.

"Headmaster," Snape mumbled. As Dumbledore came closer Snape and Ellie both gave startled stares. Dumbledore was dressed in a muggle suit. He looked very peculiar.

"Young Eleanora and I are going to take a short trip," Dumbledore told Snape.

Snape frowned, and glanced down at Ellie and then back at Dumbledore.

"Oh?" he replied, curious.

"I'm afraid Eleanora's guardian has been taken ill. Well, we must be off," Dumbledore said.

Snape watched Ellie and Dumbledore leave the castle together. A brief flash of jealousy flared within him to see Dumbledore acting in the role of Ellie's parent while he stood on the sidelines, but it was gone in an instant, and instead replaced by further self-loathing for such a foolish thought.


	20. A Walk

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty: A Walk**

It was almost Christmas and Ellie was still at Hogwarts. With Mrs. Manning still being ill in hospital there was nowhere for her to go.

When Ellie and Dumbledore had gone to the muggle hospital to visit Mrs. Manning Ellie was shocked at how pale Mrs. Manning looked. She slept the whole time Ellie was with her. A kind nurse told her that Mrs. Manning needed as much rest as possible. When Dumbledore eventually told her it was time to go Ellie felt a sudden unexplainable sadness, as if this was the last time she would ever see Mrs. Manning. She kissed her forehead gently and whispered goodbye.

All of Ellie's friends had gone home for Christmas. Hardly anyone from Gryffindor or any other house had stayed at Hogwarts, so the castle felt virtually empty. There were no classes of course, so Ellie was at a loose end most of the time. The snow was thick on the ground outside and if Jamie had been there then they could have had snowball fights and built snowmen. He had gone to visit his gran all the way in California for Christmas though, and it was no fun to do those things alone.

Sitting alone in the common room hour after hour became boring. Ellie decided to go for a walk – at least it would be something to do. She wrapped herself up in a thick coat and scarf and ventured outside. The wind was blowing bitterly, and within minutes, Ellie's hands felt frozen. She rubbed them together to get some feeling back.

Ellie walked about the grounds near the lake. She didn't meet anyone else – she was obviously the only person mad enough to go out in such weather. Snow was now starting to fall lightly. Ellie liked it. She felt it suited her mood. She walked along the lake for a while, not paying much attention to scenery around her. She walked until she came to a bend in the lake, and then turned around and began to walk back. As she walked, she casually looked up and almost jumped. Just a few feet ahead, Snape was walking towards her. His eyes were on the ground and Ellie realised he had not seen her. She made to step away from the lake and out of Snape's path, but before she could, he had cast his own gaze up and their eyes locked immediately. Snape looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"Why are you out in this weather?" he snapped.

"Why are you?" she retorted before she could stop herself.

She expected Snape to tell her off or at least take some points off Gryffindor, but instead he looked embarrassed. Ellie looked away quickly, and when she dared to face him again his face had resumed his usual cold expression.

"I like snow," Ellie stated in answer to Snape's question. She gave him an inquisitive stare and then added, "Do you?"

"I neither like it nor dislike it," he told her, his expression relaxing as he looked about at the falling snow.

"You must have liked it as a kid though?" Ellie said. Snape merely scoffed at her. Ellie felt the sudden urge to ask a question that she knew would probably be deemed as silly or cheeky, but Snape didn't look as severe as he usually did, so she chanced it.

"Did you ever make snowmen or have snowball fights or anything when you were younger?"

Snape gave her a surprised look, but he didn't sneer or chastise her. Instead, he suddenly looked very wistful.

"Once," he muttered, almost in a half-whisper. He seemed lost in thought for a few moments. He snapped out of this trance however and quickly surveyed the scene around them.

"I think it would be best to head back to the castle Miss Winterbourne, before we find ourselves lost," he said. He was right. The snowfall was getting heavier. They walked to the castle together in silence. Before they reached the castle, a strong wind began to blow at them, and the snow was falling so heavily that Ellie could barely see anything but a white mist in front of her. A forceful gust of wind almost swept her off her feet, but Ellie felt Snape's arm suddenly reach out and pull her towards him. He held her close, shielding her from most of the stormy weather until they found themselves at the front of the castle. Once inside the Entrance Hall, Snape didn't say anything to her, or even acknowledge the last half hour they had spent together with more than a quick glance. He left immediately, walking in the direction of the dungeons. Ellie watched him go, feeling surprised, confused and a bit awkward about how Snape had come to her aid outside.

Later that night when she was alone in her dormitory, Ellie sat at the window, watching the snowfall. It had turned into a real winter storm outside, and at dinner Professor McGonagall had forbidden the students to venture outdoors. Ellie's thoughts turned to Snape and she mused over her encounter with him that afternoon. She was curious about the "once" when he had built snowmen and had a snowball fight – it made him seem more human to think about him goofing around as a kid. Ellie chuckled a bit to herself at the image.

She didn't like to admit it to herself, but when Snape had helped her get back to the castle, she felt protected and safe. It was strange – protected and safe were not two words she would have ever thought she could associate with Snape.

He was a complicated person, Ellie thought to herself. Some days she wanted to hit him, others she wanted to avoid him at all costs, and then their were days like these when she felt she wanted to open Snape up and see what made him tick. She could not help feeling that there was more to him than his sneers and smirks. Somewhere inside there must be a part of him that was decent, even if he did want to hide it.

"I'll bet he'll go back to taking points off me tomorrow though," Ellie thought wryly to herself.

That was the thing about Snape. Even when he had these unexpected moments of niceness, you could always count on him to be as nasty as ever the following day.

Ellie debated it to herself a moment longer, but feeling cold, she abandoned the window and got into bed, all thoughts of Snape disappearing as she drifted off to sleep.


	21. Amelia Ryan

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter series is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-One: Amelia Ryan**

Two days after Christmas, Professor McGonagall was eating breakfast in the Great Hall when the owl post came in. A small white owl dropped a letter by her plate. Professor McGonagall opened it up without giving it much thought, but sat up straight when she read the contents:

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_My apologies for taking so long to reply. I'm afraid I have moved around so much this past year that it was a miracle your owl even found me at all._

_I'm delighted that you wrote to me. I've often wondered about Eleanora and how she is doing. As it happens, I shall be in Hogsmeade soon, probably by the time this letter gets to you, to catch up with some old friends. I will be staying at the Three Broomsticks. I would love it if you would look me up when I get there. It would be wonderful to see Eleanora – I haven't seen her since she was a few days old._

_All the Best,_

_Amelia Ryan_

Professor McGonagall shot a glance over at the near-empty Gryffindor table. Ellie was sitting with the other four Gryffindor students who had stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas. She was eating a piece of toast silently. Professor McGonagall smiled to herself. Ellie would certainly be happy when she heard this news!

Professor McGonagall decided to go down to Hogsmeade first to make sure Amelia was in fact staying at The Three Broomsticks before saying anything to Ellie. She resolved to go down after breakfast. Dumbledore, who was sitting on her left, seemed to have had the same idea about going to Hogsmeade. He suddenly looked about the staff table and asked if anyone wished to accompany him to The Three Broomsticks that morning for a butterbeer. Some staff members nodded their heads, others graciously declined. At first Snape had been one of the latter, but Dumbledore pressed him, and Snape rolled his eyes and agreed.

"Splendid!" Dumbledore told them. "Drinks are on me of course!"

Within the hour, Professor McGonagall was sitting at a long table in The Three Broomsticks, along with Dumbledore, Snape, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Sinestra, Madame Hooch and Hagrid. Everyone chatted away happily apart from Snape, who looked glum. Professor McGonagall excused herself from the group while Dumbledore ordered a round of butterbeers from the barmaid, and approached the bar. Madam Rosmerta was standing behind it and smiled when Professor McGonagall beckoned to her.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, and Professor McGonagall asked her if an Amelia Ryan was staying there.

"Yes, she is. In fact," Madam Rosmerta began, "she's just walked through the door right now!"

Professor McGonagall thanked Madam Rosmerta, and turned to see a familiar, although older now, face standing behind her. Amelia recognised her immediately.

"Professor McGonagall! I was hoping I would see you!" she exclaimed.

Her voice got Dumbledore's attention and when he turned his head and saw Amelia, he too recognised her and jumped out of his chair to greet her.

"So good to see you!" he told her, and insisted she join their table. Amelia gladly accepted and took a seat at the end of the table, opposite Snape, as Dumbledore called for another butterbeer.

When Amelia took her seat, she and Snape glanced at each other briefly, each recognising the other instantly. Snape's eyes bulged and he looked away quickly, and Amelia cleared her throat awkwardly. They each felt horrified – Snape because he knew that Amelia knew of his relationship with Claudia, and Amelia because she knew who Ellie's father was, and wasn't sure what, if anything, Snape knew.

Professor McGonagall brought up Ellie immediately, which made both Snape and Amelia squirm in their seats.

"Eleanora will be delighted to meet you Amelia!" Professor McGonagall told her.

Amelia shot a nervous glance at Snape, and then replied in a shaky voice, "Good! I'm looking forward to seeing her."

Snape caught Amelia's glance and his eyes narrowed. She _knew_. Well of course she must have known, Claudia was her best friend, but Snape felt angry. Amelia had known all along in their last year at Hogwarts together that Snape had a daughter and she didn't say a word to him.

"The poor girl doesn't really have anyone," Professor McGonagall continued. "No mother, no father (Snape flinched at this, although it went unnoticed by anyone – apart from an uneasy Amelia and a curious Dumbledore), and her guardian is very ill."

"Oh dear, I didn't know that," Amelia replied.

"You shall have to come up to the school and see her Amelia," Dumbledore told her.

"Of course," Amelia said, shooting Snape another look.

The conversation turned to more general topics, although neither Snape nor Amelia paid much attention. Eventually, Dumbledore announced he had to return to Hogwarts. He invited Amelia to come and visit the school that afternoon, and she agreed immediately. The other staff members got up to follow Dumbledore, but Snape made excuses to stay on, saying he had some business in Hogsmeade to attend to. Dumbledore nodded his head, a twinkle in his eye. Snape and Amelia remained at the table. When Snape was sure the others had really gone he moved in closer to Amelia.

"You knew!" he hissed at her.

Amelia bowed her head, ashamed.

"I'm sorry Severus," she mumbled.

"Sorry?" he exclaimed, and then quickly lowered his voice, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation.

"Sorry? Sorry that you kept this secret from me or sorry that I found out?" he snapped.

"Both," she admitted. He glared at her, so she explained.

"You have to understand, Claudia swore me to secrecy. She didn't want you to know."

"Why not?" he snarled.

"Because she was scared!" Amelia cried.

These words shocked Snape.

"Scared?" he repeated, his tone softening.

"Yes, scared," Amelia replied gently. "You were getting involved with that Lucius Malfoy. Claudia was afraid you were going to join up with that pure-blood group. And you did, didn't you?" Her tone was accusing. Snape looked guiltily at the floor for a moment.

"It's in the past," he replied, quietly. Amelia nodded. There was an awkward silence, broken a minute later by Amelia.

"How did you find out? When she came to Hogwarts?" Amelia asked, curious.

"I knew she was Claudia's daughter when I saw her. There was no mistaking it. I didn't realise my own relationship to her for several months. It didn't occur to me that Claudia would keep something like that from me."

"What tipped you off?"

"Her age. When I thought about it, I realised that there was no other possible explanation," Snape admitted.

"Does she know?"

Snape sighed before answering.

"No."

"When are you going to tell her?"

Snape looked uncomfortable for a moment.

"Never," he said curtly.

Amelia frowned.

"Never? What do you mean never?" she asked, confused.

Snape sighed again.

"I mean she must never know," Snape stated, avoiding eye contact with Amelia.

"Are you serious?" Amelia asked incredulously.

"It is for the best," Snape said flatly.

"For the best? She's your daughter!" Amelia cried, her voice raised.

"Would you keep your voice down for goodness sakes?" Snape hissed as heads turned in their direction.

Amelia scoffed.

"You're a piece of work, you know that," she said, shaking her head with disgust.

"Excuse me?" he asked indignantly.

"You heard me! How can you keep something like that a secret!" she said.

Snape gave her a cold look.

"I would have thought you of all people would know that, _Amelia_," he sneered.

Amelia's cheeks turned pink.

"That was different!" she insisted.

It was Snape's turn to scoff.

"Oh really?" he replied coolly.

Amelia glared at him, angry at the smug expression on his face.

"I want you to promise me you won't tell the girl," Snape said suddenly.

"Severus, I really think that…" she began, but Snape cut her off.

"I don't care what you think!" he hissed. "Just give me your word. It's for her own good."

Amelia considered the request for a minute.

"All right," she finally said, agreeing. "But only because I think you should be the one to tell her," she added.

"Don't hold your breath," Snape muttered, and stood up.

"Thank you for understanding Amelia," he said. "I shall no doubt see you this afternoon."

He nodded to her, and then stalked off.

Amelia watched him go with a look of loathing on her face. That poor girl -having _him_ for a father. Amelia shook her head, and then got up to go to her room. After a morning like that, she needed to lie down for a while to prepare for her afternoon trip to Hogwarts.


	22. Amelia Meets Ellie

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Amelia Meets Ellie**

Amelia felt nervous as she stood outside the Hogwarts gates, waiting for Professor McGonagall. She was excited to meet Claudia's daughter, but also fearful that Eleanora might ask her awkward questions about her father. She had promised Snape that she would not say anything.

Amelia was furious with Snape for his attitude towards his daughter. How could he possibly see her day after day and not want to say anything to her – especially as from the sounds of it the poor girl did not really have any kind of family.

The only time Amelia had ever seen Ellie was when she was five days old. Mr. and Mrs. Winterbourne were inconsolable at the loss of their daughter, but struggling to get by so they could take care of little Eleanora. Amelia had to go and see them after Claudia's death – Claudia had been her best friend and she was devastated by her sudden death. Amelia stayed with Claudia's parents for the funeral. She was asked to be Ellie's godmother and she agreed immediately, but before Ellie's christening could take place Mr. and Mrs. Winterbourne left their home abruptly with Ellie and left no contact information. Amelia later learned that the family had been threatened, and the Winterbournes had felt forced to go into hiding. Amelia was very sorry to lose contact with Ellie, but glad she was at least safe.

It was only when Amelia finally received Professor McGonagall's letter that she learned that Ellie's grandparents had died and that Claudia's former nanny was raising Ellie. Amelia had spent the last ten years of her life travelling around the world and she barely kept in contact with her parents, let alone anything else that was going on in the wizarding world. When she read Professor McGonagall's letter she felt compelled to come to Hogwarts immediately to see Ellie. She had wondered if Snape, whom she had heard was now teaching at Hogwarts, would guess anything, and before she came to Hogsmeade, she had debated with herself whether she should tell Snape or not if he was in the dark. She did not want to break the promise she made to Claudia not to tell Snape, but the circumstances were so different now. Claudia and her parents were dead – Ellie had no real family left.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted Amelia's thoughts. Professor McGonagall was on the other side of the gates, walking towards her.

"Amelia! Glad you could come," she said as she tapped her wand at the gates and then opened them.

"Thank you Professor," Amelia replied as she stepped past her and into the grounds. Professor McGonagall shut the gates and tapped them with her wand again, and then the two women set off in the direction of the castle.

"Does Eleanora know I'm coming?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, I told her this morning. She's very excited about meeting you," Professor McGonagall told her.

Ellie was more than excited to hear that her mum's best friend was coming to Hogwarts to see her – she was absolutely ecstatic! She could barely contain herself for the rest of the morning. With no Jamie around to talk to she felt as if she would burst.

Ellie arrived at the Great Hall for lunch at the same time as Snape. She gave him a big grin in spite of herself as they walked in, before scooting off to take a seat at her table. Snape hoped that Amelia would keep her promise and not say anything to Ellie about her father's identity. He doubted Ellie would ever smile at him like that again if she knew. Not that he would want her to…

Professor McGonagall had to threaten Ellie with the loss of house points to get her to remain in the Entrance Hall when it was time to go and fetch Amelia at the gates. Ellie hopped from one foot to the other as she waited, unable to keep still. Snape hung around the Entrance Hall, curious to see this meeting himself. Ellie did not even realise he was there as he stayed back in the shadows.

When the doors of the Entrance Hall opened, Ellie found herself overcome with a sudden shyness. Professor McGonagall came through the door first, and Amelia followed. Professor McGonagall led Amelia over to Ellie, and introduced them.

"Eleanora Winterbourne, meet Amelia Ryan. Amelia Ryan – Eleanora Winterbourne."

"Hi!" Ellie said in a small voice.

Amelia gasped and held her hand over her mouth. Ellie looked so much like Claudia, it made her suddenly feel very sad that it was she who was getting to see this little girl and not Claudia herself.

"Hello," Amelia said to her, giving her a warm smile. Ellie smiled back – she liked this woman already!

"Would you mind if we take a walk?" Amelia asked Professor McGonagall.

"As long as Miss Winterbourne fetches her coat," Professor McGonagall replied in a stern voice, but Ellie saw the twinkle in her eye.

"I'll be back in a minute!" she cried, and dashed off up the staircase. While they were waiting, a faint crash could be heard, not from upstairs, but from one of the corridors leading off the Entrance Hall.

"Peeves!" a harsh voice could be heard shouting.

"Oh dear! You'll have to excuse me Amelia," Professor McGonagall said, and rushed off down the corridor. Snape, who had been observing everything, stepped out of the shadows, startling Amelia.

"Oh! Severus! I wish you'd warn me in future if you do something like that," she said.

"Well?" Snape asked.

"She looks so much like Claudia," Amelia said in amazement. "I don't know how you do it Severus," Amelia added.

"You will uphold our agreement, nonetheless?" Snape enquired. Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Yes Severus I will. I must strongly urge you however to thi…" she began, but Snape cut her off.

"That's all I need to know," he told her, and with a cold glare, he swept off down a corridor towards the dungeons.

"Odious man," Amelia muttered to herself.

"What did you say?"

Amelia swung around. Ellie was running down the last few steps of the wide staircase.

"Oh… nothing," Amelia told her.

"So, do you like Hogwarts?" Amelia asked as Ellie as they walked side by side through the grounds.

"Yeah, it's brilliant! I'm really glad I came here," Ellie replied.

"Do you like your teachers?" Amelia said.

"Yeah, pretty much. Well…" Ellie said, but stopped before finishing her sentence. She was going to say she didn't like Snape, but then remembered their encounter a few days ago; when he had seemed a lot mellower with her.

"Well…?" Amelia said, curious.

"It's nothing," Ellie told her.

They walked on in silence for a while, but then Ellie spoke.

"Did my mum like Hogwarts?"

Amelia smiled.

"Yes! She loved it. The castle, the grounds, Hogsmeade… everything. She was always happy here."

"What was she like?"

Amelia thought about this question before answering.

"Well, she was very smart. She always did well in her schoolwork. She used to help me out where she could. I don't think I would have passed my History of Magic OWL without her! That was her all over though – she was a very kind person. She always liked to give people a chance. She was a bit shy and quiet sometimes, but when she was with people she felt comfortable with, she was very passionate about her thoughts and her ideas. She was a wonderful friend."

"Do you miss her?"

"Everyday," Amelia admitted, looking wistful. They had stopped walking now, and Amelia stared down at the lake in the distance.

"Was Potions her worst subject?" Ellie asked suddenly.

Amelia looked surprised.

"Yes, how did you know that?" she enquired.

"Professor Snape said she wasn't any good at it. He helped her with it, didn't he?"

"Well, she wasn't bad, she was actually quite good at the subject compared to most - she just wasn't as good as she wanted to be. She wanted to be an Auror, and you needed top grades for that job. She begged Professor Slughorn for extra help. Severus was the best in the class, so Slughorn asked him to give her some extra help."

Ellie laughed to herself at the name "Severus". And she thought "Eleanora" was bad!

"Professor Snape made it sound like she was rubbish at Potions," Ellie said.

Amelia frowned.

"Well, she wasn't. Don't worry about what Severus says."

"You don't like Professor Snape, do you?" Ellie asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just the way your voice sounds when you talk about him," Ellie replied.

"Oh," Amelia said, sorry that Ellie had noticed it.

"Well, he was never my favourite person in the world," she admitted.

Amelia stayed to dinner that evening at Dumbledore's insistence. She and Snape avoided eye contact as much as possible.

Before she left that evening, she promised to come and see Ellie before she left Hogsmeade the next day.

Ellie went to bed with light heart that evening. Amelia had told her many wonderful stories about her mother, and Ellie was determined to ask her about her father when she came to see her the following morning.


	23. A Shock for Ellie

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Three: A Shock for Ellie**

Shortly after breakfast, Amelia arrived again at Hogwarts. As before, she and Ellie took a walk about the grounds. Ellie knew that Amelia would have to leave soon, so as soon as she could, she introduced the topic of her father.

"Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"Since you and my mum were so close, you must have… you must have known my dad," Ellie said. Amelia stopped walking.

"Oh."

Ellie stopped too and looked up at her. Amelia avoided making eye contact with Ellie.

Amelia was torn. She did not want to lie to Ellie, but she didn't see any way out of that question without lying. She cursed Snape under her breath for being so obstinate about Ellie.

"I don't know anything about him," Amelia finally said, hoping she had sounded believable. Ellie's searching looks were not helping matters. Amelia felt sure that if Ellie looked her in the eye she would be able to guess she was lying.

"Really? You don't know who he is?" Ellie asked desperately.

"No," Amelia stated. She felt disgusted with herself at the look of disappointment on Ellie's face.

"Didn't anyone know?" Ellie asked.

"I'm sorry," Amelia answered in a sympathetic voice as she shook her head.

Ellie felt like screaming. If Amelia didn't know then who else would. This was it – the end of the line. She would never know who her father was. All her hopeful thoughts of a dad who loved her and wanted her evaporated in an instant.

Before Amelia left, she had a present for Ellie – a big tawny brown owl.

"Her name is Helga. She's special. No matter where I am, if you send her a letter for me she'll be able to find me. I'll write to you as often as I can. If you ever need to talk to someone you can send me a letter, and if you ever need me just send a note with Helga and I'll be here as soon as possible."

"Thanks," Ellie told her.

"Now, come here," Amelia said, and gave Ellie a hug.

"Remember, if you ever need me, I'll be here, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie whispered, sad to see her go. Amelia was the only real link she had to her mother, and now she was gone.

Amelia was true to her word, and she sent letters frequently to Ellie. The correspondence kept Ellie's spirits up. Mrs. Manning was still very ill and in hospital. Ellie was worried about what would happen to her if Mrs. Manning died. She would have to go to an orphanage for sure. She had no family. Five months passed until it was the end of May, and there was still no improvement in Mrs. Manning's condition. Ellie began to panic. The term would be over before she knew it, and she had nowhere to go. Things were about to get worse however.

Dumbledore had just sat down to breakfast, and he was debating whether to have one sausage or two when an owl swept by and deposited a letter in his lap. He opened the envelope gently and found a small note inside. Written in the note was something that made him forget altogether about his sausages. His expression grew very grave. His eyes wandered over to the Gryffindor table, and soon he spotted Ellie, laughing with Jamie.

"Minerva," he said, turning to Professor McGonagall. "I need you to bring Eleanora to my office straight after breakfast," he told her, standing up.

"Is it bad news?" Professor McGonagall asked. Several other professors who were sitting nearby listened with interest, among them Professor Snape.

"I'm afraid it is. It seems Eleanora's guardian passed away last night," Dumbledore said slowly. Professor McGonagall looked shocked. "Oh dear," she whispered. Dumbledore nodded to her, and left the hall by the door behind the staff table.

Professor McGonagall was not the only one shocked by this news. The other staff members who heard Dumbledore's words muttered amongst themselves, some casting pitiful looks at the oblivious Ellie. Snape sat frozen in his seat. If Ellie's guardian was dead, what did that mean for him?

When Professor McGonagall approached Ellie as she was leaving the hall, her solemn expression told her what was wrong.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Ellie mumbled.

"Come with me dear," Professor McGonagall said, putting a protective hand on her shoulder. Jamie didn't want Ellie to go without him, but Professor McGonagall ordered him to stay where he was.

Professor McGonagall led her to the familiar statue that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. This time Ellie barely noticed the revolving staircase. She was lost in thoughts of Mrs. Manning, and her own fate. Before she knew it, she was sitting on a seat in front of the desk in Dumbledore's office, as he looked kindly at her from the other side of desk.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore admitted. "But don't worry about that now. We'll think of something," he assured her.

Jamie had returned to the common room after breakfast. It was a Saturday so there were no classes. He paced about the room, anxious for Ellie to come back, and feeling heartbroken for her. It was so cruel. First, she had lost her mum, then her grandparents, and now the closest person she had to family, Mrs. Manning, was gone too. Not to mention the fact that she would probably never know who her father was. It was so unfair that Ellie had to go through all this!

When Ellie eventually came through the portrait hole, he took one look at her red eyes and pulled her towards him. She began to sob into his shoulder. A few other students gave them odd looks, but Jamie led Ellie into a corner.

When Ellie managed to compose herself, she felt very embarrassed about crying in front of the whole common room. Jamie reassured her that everyone would understand.

"Are you going to tell Amelia?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I suppose I should," she said, wiping her tears.

Jamie brought her some parchment and ink and Ellie scribbled down a few lines, outlining the situation briefly to Amelia. She and Jamie then walked up to the Owlery and found Helga.

"She'll probably come here when she gets it," Jamie told her.

"I hope so," Ellie replied.

Amelia did come, and much sooner than Ellie had anticipated. The next morning Jamie was out early to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice. When he was walking back to the castle Snape hurried past him. Curious, Jamie followed him at a distance, and soon he saw the gates ahead of him. There was a woman waiting there, and Snape was letting her in. Jamie squinted his eyes, trying to make out the woman. She looked familiar… of course! He recognised her from a photograph – it was Amelia.

Jamie rushed back to the common room as fast as possible. When he burst through the portrait hole he was unable to speak, he was so out of breath. Ellie gave him a curious look. He began gesturing wildly to her.

"Outside…. Saw Snape… Amelia!" he gasped.

"Ellie was puzzled by this, but Jamie's frantic pointing suddenly made sense – Amelia was outside! She dashed off immediately. Jamie wanted to follow, but he was too exhausted and collapsed into a nearby chair instead.

"The Headmaster sent me down to let you in," Snape explained to Amelia as he unlocked the gate. She nodded. They walked together in silence, until Amelia spoke.

"So, you obviously know," she said. Snape sighed.

"If you mean am I aware that Miss Winterbourne's guardian is dead then yes, I know," he told her.

"So?" Amelia said.

"So?" Snape countered.

Amelia let out a frustrated sigh.

"So are you going to tell Ellie the truth?" she said.

Snape stared coldly at her for a moment before replying.

"No," he stated.

"No?" she repeated incredulously. He didn't reply, but merely began to walk in the direction of the castle. She pulled him back however. He turned around, glaring at the hand that was still on his arm.

"Don't just walk away from me!" she said angrily. "She's got no one left! You have to…"

"I don't have to do anything!" he hissed suddenly.

"She's your daughter!"

"And?"

"And? _And_? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Amelia cried.

Snape said nothing. Amelia threw her hands up in frustration.

"You know what, I always thought you were a stupid little prat," she spat. He glared at her, furious.

"I never understood what Claudia saw in you. I thought she was mad when she first started talking about you. I never said anything because I knew there had to be _something_ that Claudia saw in you. For the life of me, I can't think what. You were always a slimy little toad as far as I could see. And look at you now – exactly the same, keeping this from Ellie!"

"Don't you dare lecture me about keeping secrets _Amelia_," he snarled. "If she had not been kept a secret from me in the first place then we wouldn't be in this situation. Claudia made her choice. She obviously didn't want me to have anything to do with the girl. You had twelve years to tell me of the child's existence but you didn't, so don't start talking to me now about keeping secrets!"

"It wasn't my place to tell you! This situation is completely different. Ellie has no one! No mother, no grandparents, no family! You are all she has, and as much as I pity her for that, I still think she has a right to know who you are! What's going to happen to her? Are you really going to stand by and watch her be tossed in some children's home? Your own child?" Amelia exclaimed.

"_Don't_ call her that!"

Amelia scoffed.

"What do you think Claudia would say if she knew about this? What do you think she'd think of you if she knew that were turning your back on Ellie like this – that you won't even acknowledge her?"

Claudia's name felt like a knife through Snape's chest. He knew that Claudia would be disgusted with him if she could see him now, and that made him feel bitter. It did not change his sentiments however, although he did feel a pang of guilt.

"What do you expect me to do? Do you want me to walk up to the girl and tell her I'm her father? Or should I get up in front of everyone at dinner and announce it to the whole school? Maybe I should put an ad in the Daily Prophet and proclaim to the whole world that I am Eleanora Winterbourne's father! Would that please you?" he snarled at Amelia.

Amelia opened her mouth indignantly to reply, but suddenly froze, a horrified expression on her face. She was looking beyond Snape, at something behind him. Snape glanced over his shoulder, and suddenly shared Amelia's feelings of horror. Standing a few feet behind him was Ellie. She was looking at him with a mixed expression of shock and devastation. She looked at him for only a moment before turning and running away. Snape suddenly felt weak. She knew. The brat _knew_.

"Severus…?" Amelia said softly. He turned and looked at her, but he had no energy for arguing anymore.

"I hope you're happy," he sneered, and with a final piercing stare, he staggered back to the castle.


	24. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Confrontation**

Ellie ran away blindly, not caring where she went as long as it was as far away from Snape and Amelia as possible. She didn't stop until she found herself behind Professor Sprout's greenhouses. She rested her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. Her mind was racing.

What Snape had said… it couldn't be true, it just couldn't be! He was being sarcastic, joking about with Amelia for some reason. He hadn't meant what he said. He _couldn't_ be her father.

The shocked faces of Amelia and Snape when they realised she had overheard them forced their way into her head, although she tried to block them out. Why would they be shocked if they were just joking…?

No! It could _not_ be true!

Ellie sank to the ground, her head in her hands, wishing it would all just go away. Snippets of encounters with Snape began to flash through her mind. The way he made her detentions easier, the way he looked at her sometimes, the way he protected her in the snowstorm. Each recollection tortured her, as they only served to reinforce the notion that what Snape had said was true. He was…

But if he was, then why was she only hearing it now, and even then because she accidentally overheard it. Why had she not been told sooner? She had been at this school for almost two years! Why had the truth been kept from her?

Rage began to bubble up inside of her, hissing and spitting at her insides. She needed to confront him. She wanted to hear the truth right now. If he _had_ been lying to her, he'd be sorry…

Ellie tore off back to the castle. Once inside she paused. Where would he be? His office seemed like the most likely place so she darted down to the dungeons. Annoyed and surprised students had to dodge out of her path. When she got to Snape's office, she banged loudly on the door.

When Snape got back to the castle, he had headed straight to his office and slammed the door behind him. He collapsed at his desk, feeling like he could use a stiff drink.

Blast that woman! Coming here and interfering! She had ruined everything! The dratted brat knew now, and she certainly wasn't happy about it. How long before she blabbed it to the rest of her Gryffindor friends? He would be the laughing-stock of the school when this got out. Damn her!

A loud rap at the door snapped him out of his bitter thoughts.

"Come in," he shouted in an irritated voice. If that was a student banging on his door like that, other than a Slytherin, he would skin them alive.

The door was flung open, and Ellie stalked in, her eyes blazing fiercely. He started violently and stood up.

"Is it true?" she yelled.

"Shut the door!" he hissed.

"IS IT TRUE?" she bellowed back, ignoring his request.

Snape snarled and swept past her to the door himself and slammed it shut. He turned back to the angry girl and met her fierce gaze, breathing heavily as his fists shook with rage by his sides.

"Yes," he spat, and walked back to the other side of his desk.

Ellie's anger faded briefly, as the devastating effects of this confirmation took hold. Tears sprang to her eyes immediately and her face crumpled. She resisted the urge to breakdown and cry however, and straightened herself out again, determined to have it out with Snape.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice shook, but her expression was still forceful and angry. Snape felt compelled to answer. He wasn't sure how to begin and took a deep breath as he tried to string together a reasonable explanation.

"I didn't know, not for a long time," he admitted, bitterly. Ellie frowned in confusion.

"You didn't know?"

"Your mother never told me!" he snapped.

"Why?" she demanded. Snape hesitated.

"It's… complicated," he stated. Ellie rolled her eyes and gave a disbelieving scoff.

"Right, _complicated_," she repeated in a mocking tone.

Snape shot her a cold glare.

"You wouldn't understand!" he told her.

"Okay, fine. When did you find out? When I came to Hogwarts?"

"Not straight away."

"When then?"

"The end of your first term."

"The end of my first term? So you've known for a year and a half!" Ellie exclaimed angrily. Snape remained silent. This encounter was starting to affect him more than he could have anticipated. He just wanted Ellie to leave, so he could work out his own feelings without having to deal with _hers_.

"Is that it? Is that all you have to say?" she demanded. He gave her a frosty glare, but still he didn't speak.

"Fine!" she cried and turned her back to him. She stomped towards the door and reached her hand out to the doorknob, but then paused for a moment. She twirled around to face him again.

"The first time I met you, it took about ten minutes to realise that you were nothing but a greasy slimy git," she shouted. Snape's eyes flashed angrily at these words.

"How dare you…!" he began, furiously.

"Shut up!" she yelled, interrupting him. "My mum must have been mad! _Mad_! You're a nasty, horrible man!" she continued, giving him a look of pure disgust.

"I hate you!" she hissed, and then yanked the door open and ran out, banging to door behind her.

Snape stared at the door for a good minute before sitting down heavily in his chair. Ellie's parting words had cut him deeply. She had uttered them with such venom. Her comments about her mother being mad also had an affect. His own insecurities about Claudia rose to the surface.

Is that what Claudia had felt too when she found out she was pregnant – that she was mad to ever go near him? Is that why she never told him, never even contacted him again after leaving Hogwarts? Maybe she had hated him? Amelia said she was scared of him – did her fear turn into hate? Did she hate him for the path he chose? After all, he hated himself for it…

Ellie didn't stop running until she reached the Gryffindor tower. She barked the password at the Fat Lady and rushed inside. Jamie appeared immediately, asking questions about Amelia but she pushed him away. Jamie, realising that Ellie was shaking, tried to find out what was wrong.

"El, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she muttered. Jamie knew Ellie well enough to see that she was clearly agitated however.

"You don't look fine…"

"I'm fine! Just leave me alone!" she screeched and ran to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories.

"Ellie!" he shouted after her, but she was out of sight by then. Jamie stared after her, perplexed. What had happened that had gotten her so upset? Surely Amelia didn't have anything to do with it, had she?

"If she has, I'm going to find out," he thought.

Determined to find out what was going on, Jamie left the common room, in search of Amelia.


	25. The Secret is Revealed

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Five: The Secret is Revealed**

When Jamie got out into the grounds, he had no idea where to begin looking for Amelia. What if she had left the grounds? Perhaps running down to the gates and having a squint out onto the road might be the best thing to do first.

He jogged down towards the gates, hoping that if Amelia had left she would still be close enough to call back. He was about halfway to the gates when he spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively he glanced at it as he ran past but the second he turned his eyes back to the path he realised the person he had just seen was Amelia herself. He came to a sudden stop and darted over to her.

Amelia was sitting under a tree, looking distressed. Her forehead was resting in the palm of her right hand and her left hand was balled into a fist and hitting the tree repeatedly. She was muttering to herself. When Jamie got closer, he could hear what she was saying.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"Amelia Ryan?" he asked hesitantly. She flinched and her head jerked up immediately

"Oh," she cried in a relieved voice. Jamie gave her a puzzled look as she heaved herself to her feet.

"Er, you _are_ Amelia Ryan, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes I am. Who are you?"

"My name's Jamie," he told her. She gave him a curious look.

"Ellie's Jamie?" she asked with interest. Jamie blushed at being referred to as 'Ellie's Jamie', but he nodded.

"Have you seen Ellie?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, yeah, and she was acting weird," Jamie told her. She gave a knowing nod and Jamie heard her mutter, "I bet she was."

"What's going on?" Jamie asked. "I know she was upset about Mrs. Manning, but not like this. I know she went to speak to you a little while ago so…"

"Where is she?"

"In the girls' dormitories."

"Could you take me to see her?"

Jamie hesitated. Were visitors allowed into the tower?

"I used to be in Gryffindor you know. I think Professor McGonagall might make an exception under the circumstances," she added, reading Jamie's doubtful expression.

"Okay," he agreed, and they began to walk towards the castle together. Jamie wanted to ask Amelia some more questions but her expression was so thoughtful that he didn't want to interrupt her. At least she was going to speak to Ellie. She might be able to cheer Ellie up. He'd be waiting outside the entrance to the girls' dormitories if she didn't anyway, and he'd shout up the staircase to Ellie if he had to.

When they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she gave Amelia a look.

"I know you, don't I?" the Fat Lady asked. Amelia laughed.

"Yes, you do!" she replied. The Fat Lady nodded and muttered with pride, "I always remember a face!" In a louder and firmer voice she added, "Password?"

When they entered the common room, Amelia gasped.

"It's exactly the same as I remember!" she uttered in awe. A few students turned and gave her curious looks. A prefect glared disapprovingly at Jamie.

"You can't bring strangers in here!" he cried indignantly. Amelia chuckled to herself and glanced at the shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P inscribed on it.

"I used to be a Prefect once too," she told him and then, ignoring his bewildered stares she headed straight for the door that led to the girls' dormitories.

"See you in a bit," she told Jamie, and disappeared through the door.

"I'm going to report this to Professor McGonagall immediately," said the Prefect in an important voice.

"Whatever," Jamie muttered as the boy left the room. He sat down by the door, waiting.

When Ellie had reached her empty dormitory, she had flung herself onto her bed and begun to cry bitterly. She felt as if her whole world had come crashing down – Mrs. Manning was dead and Snape was her father. The word 'nightmare' didn't even begin to cover it.

What would happen to her now? The question had tormented her last night, keeping her awake, and now it was eating away at her again. What if she was forced to go and live with _Snape_? It would be awful. He was so creepy and gloomy. A few hours a week of lessons, she could just about handle, but living with him would be like being stuck in detention with him for the rest of her life. She would have to endure his piercing stares several times a day, and imagine having to call him _Dad_? Ugh! She resolved immediately to never, ever do such a thing.

"Ellie?" a gentle voice called out. Ellie lifted her tear-streaked face and saw Amelia standing in the doorway.

"Can I come in?"

Ellie felt angry with Amelia. She had _known_. Ellie turned away from Amelia, but the creak of the floor told her Amelia had come in anyway.

"I can understand if you don't want to talk to me, but at least let me explain."

Ellie stayed where she was, refusing to look at Amelia. She heard Amelia sigh, and then felt her mattress shift as Amelia took a seat beside her.

"The situation with your parents was complicated," Amelia began. Ellie's interest was piqued immediately, remembering her conversation with Snape, but still she pretended that she wasn't interested.

"Your mum… she was confused about what to do, so she made a choice. She decided not to tell Severus, not right away. She needed time to think. I know that may be hard to understand, but she thought she was doing what was best."

Ellie slowly turned to face Amelia.

"What exactly was it that was _complicated_ though? Why was she confused?"

Amelia paused and bit her lower lip. How could she explain it?

"I can't say," she admitted, and Ellie let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's not my place to tell you Ellie. I wish your mum were here to explain it to you, but I don't want to put words into her mouth. I'll see if I can find some old letters, that might help explain things better."

Ellie's mood took a turn for the better when she heard this. Her mum's letters!

"Okay," Ellie said, "But I have another question."

"All right."

"Why didn't you say anything to me after you met me? You obviously knew, and I know _he_ knew because he told me. Why was it kept from me?"

"Severus asked me not to tell you. I wasn't happy about it, but I felt he should be the one to tell you," Amelia told her.

"But he didn't want to tell me," Ellie said. She couldn't help feeling rejected, even if it was by Snape.

"I don't think he knew how to," Amelia said, trying to cheer Ellie up. Ellie shook her head.

"Let's face it – I've never exactly been his favourite student, and he's never exactly been my favourite teacher. If I hadn't overheard him, he probably never would have told me."

"Oh Ellie, I don't believe that. Severus has always been…," Amelia began, and then paused, hunting for the right words.

"… A very private person," she finished eventually. "He always was. When he and your mum were going out, he didn't want your mum to tell anyone. She didn't care who knew but he did. He was always funny like that – very quiet."

"Why did my mum go out with him?" Ellie asked bluntly. Amelia was taken aback by the question.

"Oh," she said. "Um, they got to know each other quite well when he was helping her with her Potions work, and she felt he had a sweet, sensitive side."

"Snape, sweet and sensitive?" Ellie asked incredulously. Amelia laughed.

"I never saw it myself!" she admitted.

"But she changed her mind? I mean, she didn't tell him about me so…"

"Like I said Ellie, it was complicated."

"I know, I know. I just wish I knew what _complicated_ meant!"

"It's a pity we don't have your mum's old diary. She was always scribbling away in that thing. I'm sure half of it was about Severus and you," Amelia said.

"Diary?" Ellie repeated, her heart beginning to pound.

"Yeah, I gave your mum one for her fifteenth birthday. She always had it with her."

Ellie's hand began to tremble as she reached over to the cabinet beside her bed and slowly opened a drawer. She moved some things around then pulled out the diary she had found two years ago in the attic.

"Is this it?" she breathed. Amelia's eyes grew wide as she took the diary from Ellie's hands.

"Where did you get this?" Amelia asked, amazed.

"I found it in our attic at home. But the pages are blank…"

Amelia chuckled to herself as she flipped through the pages.

"Yeah, extra precaution against nosey parkers. Nothing a simple spell can't fix," Amelia said cheerfully and pulled out her wand. Ellie watched breathlessly as Amelia closed over the diary and then tapped the cover with her wand.

"_Specialis Revelio_!"

She opened the diary up began to turn over the pages. Ellie watched in amazement as small handwriting began to slowly appear, covering each page from top to bottom.

"I think your mum would want you to have this," Amelia said smiling, as she handed the diary back to Ellie.

"Thanks!" Ellie cried, her heart suddenly as light as a feather.

"Are you going to be okay?" Amelia asked her. Ellie nodded, still gazing at the diary in wonder. Amelia laughed to herself and gave Ellie a quick hug.

A minute later, she walked into the common room and was immediately accosted by an anxious Jamie.

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine, she just needs some time alone, but I'm sure she'll tell you when she's ready. Just be patient," she told Jamie.

"Amelia," a stern voice called and Professor McGonagall appeared out of the shadows. Amelia jumped.

"Oh sorry, Professor McGonagall's here by the way," Jamie muttered.

"Professor, I…" Amelia began, but Professor McGonagall's hard expression melted into a twinkling smile. Amelia grinned back.

"You're not going to give me a detention are you?" she joked.

"I think we can overlook this minor indiscretion," she said, although she gave Jamie a stern glance. He promptly moved away.

"Come to my office for a cup of tea, there's something I wanted to discuss with you anyway," Professor McGonagall continued. Before leaving, Amelia glanced back at Jamie and winked at him. Jamie grinned back, glad he had avoided a detention himself, although the Prefect was giving him furious glares. Jamie hastily grabbed a book and buried his face in it, making sure to keep a firm eye on the door to the girls' dormitories. Whenever Ellie felt like appearing again, he would be there.


	26. Death Eater

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Death Eater**

When Amelia left the room, Ellie curled up on her bed with the diary. She began reading from the beginning. Reading her mother's thoughts made Ellie feel as if her mum had come back to life again. Ellie laughed and cried as she read all about her mum's trials and adventures. When Ellie got to her mum's sixth year at Hogwarts, one of the first entries was about Snape. Ellie felt her stomach twist into a knot when she saw his name in her mother's handwriting.

"_Professor Slughorn was kind enough to find someone who was willing to help me improve my potions skills – Severus Snape. I don't know him that well as he is in Slytherin. He's the best student in the class so I suppose I'm lucky that he's agreed to help me. I'm sure I can learn a lot from him. I must confess I do feel a bit nervous though. He's a very strange person from what I've heard. He knows a lot of curses – he, James and Sirius are constantly at war. I've heard he knows a lot about the Dark Arts too. He's very quiet and serious. I hope we will get along okay. Lily says he's not too bad. I hope she's right…"_

"…_I met Severus Snape in the library this afternoon to discuss the potions we made this week in class. He gave me some tips on how to improve them. I'll try them out in the next class. Lily was right – he wasn't too bad. He's very rigid and formal and it can be quite off-putting, but he's not rude or mean as I imagined he would be. He seems quite tragic actually, as if he has a lot of dark secrets. It's quite intriguing…"_

"…_Potions class was fantastic today! I listened to Severus' advice and my potion turned out perfectly. Professor Slughorn was delighted. I'm going to meet Severus in the library later..."_

"…_From something Severus said I get the impression he doesn't come from a very happy home. Maybe that's why he seems so dour all the time? It doesn't help that James and Sirius are constantly on his case. If they laid off maybe he'd be a bit less sulky…"_

"…_I'm so angry right now I could scream! Just when I was doing so well in class that little idiot Nancy Murray ruins everything. She deliberately knocked over my cauldron in Potions. What is her problem? I don't think I've even talked to her before! Just because I'm in Gryffindor and she's in Slytherin means we should be at war or something? It's ridiculous! I ended up getting no marks, as I had no potion to hand up at the end of class. Perfect. Just when I thought I was going to pull in a good mark she goes and ruins everything…"_

"…_Severus was more sympathetic than I thought he would be. I was afraid that with him being in Slytherin, he might have found what Nancy did funny but he surprised me. He also offered to help me with the essay for Slughorn so I can get a good mark that might help cancel out today's zero mark. That was really nice of him. Underneath his brooding demeanour, he's actually quite sweet. He's not too bad looking either. I wonder why I never noticed that before..."_

Ellie felt slightly repulsed at first when reading about her mother softening up to Snape. Snape – good looking! Love truly is blind. She was starting to understand what Amelia said about her mum thinking Snape had a sweet and sensitive side – he did seem to be quite nice to her mum by helping her out with everything. Perhaps he wasn't always as bitter as he seemed now.

Ellie felt torn between wanting to read more, and feeling slightly queasy at the thought of reading about her mum falling in-love with _Snape_. What if her mum started writing about kissing and holding hands and – worse – about how Ellie actually came into existence? Yuck! Perhaps there are some things she shouldn't know, not right now anyway.

Ellie decided to skip ahead to the time when her mum found out she was pregnant. She turned over a large chunk of pages together and came to an entry labelled "Dec 27th 1976". She skimmed the page quickly and found a mention of Snape.

"…_I'm not sure whether to write to Severus or not. I had hoped he would write to me. I wish we hadn't argued before I left. I just couldn't ignore the way Lucius Malfoy has been putting ideas in his head though. Severus has seemed like a different person lately. It was almost as if he didn't care when I left, even though just two weeks before we had both been so devastated that we were going to be separated. I'm almost starting to regret… well no, I don't, not really, but I just wish I knew what to do next! What if he doesn't want to hear from me again? Maybe Malfoy has poisoned him against me…"_

The passage intrigued Ellie. From the sounds of it, her mum didn't know she was pregnant yet, although she must have been by that point. "I'm almost starting to regret…," made Ellie shudder. She could guess what _that_ referred to, and horrible images briefly invaded her mind. It was interesting that her mum referred to her and Snape being "devastated" that they were going to be separated – what did this mean? Her mum spoke about her leaving, but surely, that referred to her leaving for the Christmas holidays? Had her mum actually _left_ Hogwarts completely then? Why would she do that?

Ellie knew she would have to go back a few weeks to see what her mum wrote about returning home for Christmas. If she came across anything she didn't want to see she would just have to skip over it quickly.

Ellie found an entry dated from the beginning of December that answered her question.

"… _I've just received an awful letter from my father. He wants me to leave Hogwarts. He doesn't think it's safe. He thinks that people are trying to recruit young, impressionable witches and wizards into that Pure-blood group. He's worried about my safety because I'm a half-blood. I think it's daft – there are plenty of half-bloods and muggle-borns at the school. Even Severus is a half-blood and he's in Slytherin! He feels that because of his family though that I might be a target. That's absolute rubbish! Why would someone want to hurt me because my last name is Winterbourne? Who cares? I refuse to leave. I can't leave all my friends, and what about Severus? How would we be able to see each other if I couldn't come back to the school? Something tells me he's not the kind of boy that Mum and Dad would invite over for tea…"_

So, Ellie's grandfather had made her mum leave the school, and not because she was pregnant, but because he felt she was in danger. Pure-blood group – that must be You-Know-Who's followers. She had heard all about that when she first came to Hogwarts.

Ellie was starting to feel that complicated was the right word to describe her mother's relationship with Snape. She was made leave Hogwarts, leaving Snape behind. From the sounds of it, she and Snape had begun fighting because of someone called Lucius Malfoy. She'd have to find out who that was.

Ellie read on, eager to see if her mum did write to Snape, or vice versa.

"…_I've been feeling a bit ill recently. I hope it's not the flu…"_

"…_Severus still hasn't written. Maybe I should write to him…"_

"…_I'm still feeling ill, but I think I know why. I've been ignoring it, trying to pretend it's not real, but I think I might be pregnant…"_

"…_I've been to the doctor's. Mum made me go. I'm pregnant. What am I going to do? Mum and Dad are so disappointed. How can I tell them about Severus, especially since I suspect he's joined up with Lucius Malfoy? They'd be furious if they knew the father of their grandchild could be one of them…"_

Ellie felt very guilty when she read about her mum feeling her parents were disappointed in her. It's all my fault, Ellie thought miserably to herself. That name popped up again too – Lucius Malfoy. What did joining up with Lucius Malfoy mean, and why would her mum's parents be furious if Snape did…

It hit Ellie in a flash. It was so obvious she didn't know why she hadn't made the connection before. Her grandfather was worried that You-Know-Who was recruiting followers at Hogwarts. Her mum complained that Lucius Malfoy was putting ideas in Snape's head and that he seemed like a different person. Her mum suspected that Snape had "joined up" with Lucius Malfoy and she knew her parents would be furious to find out the father of their grandchild was "one of them". That must mean that her mum thought Snape had joined You-Know-Who's followers! No wonder she didn't say anything! No wonder Amelia didn't want to tell her that, and Snape…

Snape, he had not wanted to say anything either. Did he know what her mum suspected, and was disgusted that she didn't trust him? Obviously, Snape had not gotten involved with those people or he wouldn't be teaching at Hogwarts. Maybe he was hurt by what her mum thought? On the other hand, Snape – _hurt_…

Ellie felt her head would explode the more she tried to puzzle this out herself. She would have to speak to Snape again about. She blushed when she remembered how she had ended their last conversation. It might be a good idea to give Snape some time to cool off. Still she needed to talk to… she needed to find Jamie.

Jamie had been sitting for hours in the common room, hoping Ellie would come down from her room and talk to him. He was beginning to wonder had Ellie somehow snuck out without him seeing her when she finally appeared from behind a door.

"Ellie!"

He jumped up quickly and ran over to her.

"Are you okay? What's happening?"

Ellie looked around. There were students everywhere. It wasn't safe to tell Jamie everything here, someone else could easily overhear.

"Let's go find somewhere private and I'll tell you everything."

It was still bright outside, although it was starting to get late. Ellie decided to take Jamie outside. She felt like everywhere in the castle had ears and Snape would probably murder her if the truth got out because of her.

They found a spot that was out in the open, but away from the castle. Ellie felt it was the safest place to say anything, as there was nowhere anyone could hide and listen in on their conversation – not unless they were invisible. They sat down on the grass.

"Well?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Well… I found out something today, something… unexpected."

"Go on!"

"I know who my dad is."

"What! That's brilliant!" Jamie exclaimed, but then realised that Ellie didn't seem very enthusiastic. His face fell.

"Isn't it?" he asked.

"Not really. You see, my dad is… my dad…"

Ellie cringed and dropped her face into her hands.

"My dad is Professor Snape," she mumbled through her fingers.

Jamie stared at her, horrified. He couldn't speak for a minute.

"Did you… did you just say that… your dad is… is _Snape_?" he finally managed to splutter out.

Ellie nodded slowly, still refusing to look at Jamie. He continued to gawp at her, feeling that there must have been a mistake made somewhere. Snape could _not_ be Ellie's dad. Not _him_. Ellie was going to look up at him in a minute, grin and say she was just kidding – of course Snape wasn't her dad! How could Jamie be so stupid as to actually believe that? Jamie waited and waited for Ellie to finish her joke, but she never did. She continued to sit with her head in her hands, occasionally shaking her head. When she finally did look up at him, her face was a mixture of shame and disappointment. When Jamie saw this, he knew Ellie's story must be true.

"Oh Ellie," he whispered sympathetically as her eyes shut tightly and tears began to fall down her face. Jamie put his arm around her and she collapsed against him, burying her face in his shoulder. The truth was finally starting to sink in, now that the shock was wearing off. Snape was her father. He was her _father_. She had wished for so long to find him, and now she wished she could just run away from it.

She didn't know which one was worse – the fact that he _was_ her father, or the fact that he clearly didn't _want_ to be. Although Mrs. Manning didn't treat her too badly, she had always longed for a real family – people who would love her no matter what, people to whom she belonged. Her mother's family was gone, but her father's family were an unknown, and Ellie couldn't help building up a grand and heroic picture of her father and his family over the years. She had imagined finding him at last and him running to her, hugging her, and telling her that he had always been looking for her too. He would bring her home and introduce her to his parents who would be absolutely delighted with her. She would go and live with them and they would all be happy together.

But instead, I get Snape, she thought bitterly to herself. His reaction to her was total silence. He didn't even want to talk to her, and the idea of hugging him made her feel sick. Did he even have parents? If he did, they were probably as slimy as he was. He had to get it from somewhere after all.

Ellie sat cuddled up to Jamie for a long time as he stroked her hair and whispered comforting words to her. When she finally became aware of their situation, she moved awkwardly, red in the face. Jamie suddenly felt awkward too. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping Ellie would say something. Ellie meanwhile was willing Jamie desperately to speak. Eventually, Jamie decided to approach the topic of Snape again, praying that he wouldn't upset Ellie in the process.

"So, um… how did you find out?"

"I heard him talking to Amelia about it."

"What happened then?"

Ellie let out a bitter laugh.

"He seems about as happy with the situation as I am."

"Oh."

"But, something good did come out of it."

"Yeah?"

"When Amelia came to talk to me she showed me how to read that diary of my mum's that I found."

"That's brilliant!"

"Yeah," Ellie said, with a small smile. "Want to know something funny though? My mum thought Snape might have been in with You-Know-Who."

Jamie stared at Ellie for a moment, before responding.

"Snape was a Death Eater?"

"Well, my mum thought he was, but he couldn't have been, could he? Dumbledore would never let him work here if he was."

Jamie thought about it for a minute.

"I suppose you're right," he said slowly, "but then again, why would your mum think he was? She must have had good reasons. She must have known him well."

Ellie's heart sank. Jamie had a good point. Her mum had said that Snape had changed and that he was hanging out with that Lucius Malfoy person. Was that person a Death Eater himself? Is that why her mum was so suspicious? Now that she thought about it, Snape did seem the type of person who would get involved in something like that. True her mother had said he was a half-blood, but it obviously wasn't well known, or his Slytherin students would be horrified to hear that their Head of House was not a pure-blood. Hadn't Devin shouted insults at her when he found out she had a muggle grandmother? Maybe Snape was _ashamed_ of being a half-blood. Her mum had said something about him being unhappy at home; maybe he was unhappy because one of his parents was a muggle.

"I think I'll have to talk to him about this," Ellie admitted to Jamie.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Well, no," Ellie said, laughing. Jamie laughed too, happy to see her looking less gloomy.

"I need to straighten this all out in my head though. I feel like there's still one piece of the puzzle missing and this is it. I want to understand why my mum kept me a secret from him, and kept _him_ a secret from her family. It will just drive me mad otherwise."

Jamie walked with Ellie to the dungeons. They paused at the end of the corridor that led to Snape's office.

"I'll wait here for you. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Ellie walked the rest of the way slowly, suddenly feeling very nervous. She had already confronted Snape today so she felt this should be easier, but before she had been angry and wanted to lash out at him. Now she was curious and wanted to have a reasonable discussion with him. For some reason the latter seemed more terrifying than the former.

When she reached the door, she knocked gently, a sharp contrast from the loud banging she had subjected the door to only hours before. There was no answer, and for a few seconds Ellie thought that there must be no one there. She had turned to leave when she suddenly heard a scrambling noise on the other side of the door. The knob turned and the door was heaved open. Snape stood in the frame, glaring out. When he saw it was her he looked surprised. His glare became colder. Ellie blushed furiously when she remembered what her last words to him had been.

She swallowed nervously. Her heart was thumping loudly against her chest.

"Professor Snape," she squeaked in a small voice. Snape's glare became less frosty.

"May I have a word with you?"

Snape gazed at her curiously for a moment. This was very unexpected. After their last conversation, he would have expected more rants and raves, not a polite request for 'a word'.

"Very well," he told her coolly. He stood aside to allow her to pass by him into the room, and then shut the door behind him.

"Well?" he asked.

"Um…" Ellie said, not sure where to begin. She had a feeling asking him outright if he had been a Death Eater would not go down well. Perhaps asking about Lucius Malfoy would be a better beginning. She could gauge his reaction from that.

"Did you ever know anyone by the name Lucius Malfoy?"

Snape started when Ellie mentioned Lucius Malfoy's name. How did the girl know about _him_?

Ellie noticed that her question seemed to rattle Snape. She waited eagerly for his response.

"Where did you hear that name?" he finally asked.

"I read it somewhere," Ellie said, not wanting to reveal too much.

"Why do you think I would know such a person?"

Ellie hesitated. This wasn't going too well. She decided a shock statement might be best. His reaction would tell her what she needed to know.

"Is it true he was a Death Eater?"

Snape reacted immediately. His face screwed up into an ugly squint. Ellie knew by this reaction that it _was_ true, but the way Snape was now glowering at her made her feel decidedly uncomfortable. This seemed like a good time to end the conversation.

"Well, thanks," she muttered and reached for the doorknob. Snape shot his arm out immediately and grasped Ellie's hand firmly, wrenching it away from the door.

"Why did you just ask me that?" his hissed.

Ellie gulped. Snape looked very angry.

"Well, I heard some stories…" she mumbled feebly.

"From whom?" he snarled.

"No one!" Ellie replied, only realising how stupid that sounded as she said it.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything!" Ellie added, suddenly desperate to leave. Snape continued to stare at her, unsettling Ellie. She may as well have asked him outright if he had been a Death Eater. She couldn't imagine the conversation turning any worse.

"I heard you joined up with him!" Ellie shouted suddenly, and then immediately kicked herself. She was wrong – things could get a _lot_ worse.

Snape jerked violently, his eyes bulging and muscles in his face began to twitch. He tightened his grip on her hand.

"Who have you been talking to?" he spat, his eyes gleaming wildly. Ellie shrank away, a sudden fear gripping her. Was he going to hurt her? He seemed furious. His grip on her hand tightened even further, causing her to wince in pain.

"Professor Snape!" she cried desperately. It had no effect. His eyes were blazing and his mouth was screwed up into a twisted smile. He leaned in towards her.

"Answer me," he growled at her. He had no intention of letting her go, she realised. She tried to twist away but he caught her firmly with his other arm and held her where she was. Ellie was completely bewildered by this behaviour and shocked by how venomous his expression was. She wished Jamie would burst through the door. The shock might cause Snape to release her and then she and Jamie could run. Snape seemed like a different person, as if he had gone mad all of a sudden.

Seemed like a different person – that's what her mum had said about him. Was this what he was like around Lucius Malfoy? No wonder she hadn't told him anything about her! She was right too! Snape had gone mental!

Ellie consoled herself with the thought that her mother had been absolutely right in everything she had done, but that didn't help her get out of this situation. She didn't want Snape to know about the diary – she was sure he would take it away and it was her last link to her mother. She would not give that up for anything. How could she get through to Snape though and make him let her go? Should she scream for help? Would anyone hear her if she did? Jamie was outside; maybe he could run for help…

But what if Snape did something to him, Ellie realised. Her mother had mentioned that Snape knew lots of curses; she didn't want Jamie to be cursed! Oh why had she even come here!

"Because he's your father," a voice inside her head said. Yeah, brilliant – look how far that's gotten me, she began to think to herself, but in a flash an idea occurred to her.

Didn't he protect her from that stormy weather at Christmas? Didn't he make her detentions easy? Didn't he rush her to the Hospital Wing when she had been hit by that hex? In each case, she had felt there was something odd about it, although she had rationalised each one at the time. Now though she knew why he had behaved that way – she was his daughter. He must have _some_ kind of parental instinct in him somewhere. If she could appeal to it then he might let her go.

"You're not going to hurt me are you?" she cried, waiting for a reaction. He merely sneered at her.

"You haven't answered my question," he said coolly.

It was no good. She would have to try another shock tactic. It seemed the only way to get any kind of reaction out of Snape was to do something that he would never anticipate. This could make things worse, but it might be enough to startle him. She would hate herself for this later – breaking a promise she had made to herself just hours before – but the circumstances warranted it.

"Dad!" she shrieked.

The effect was immediate. He not only let her go, he shoved her away and stared at her with a mixture of horror and revulsion. She didn't stay to see more, but pulled open the door and dashed up the corridor to Jamie.

"Come on!" she yelled at him and he tore after her. She didn't stop until they were outside Gryffindor Tower.

"What was that all about?" Jamie panted, confused.

"I just had to get away," Ellie panted back.

"Why?"

"I'll have to tell you later. Someone might overhear."

Snape stared at the spot where Ellie had been standing for a full minute. His mind was racing. She knew about Malfoy. She knew about his past, about the Death Eaters. Where had she heard it?

Amelia! That interfering woman, he thought bitterly to himself.

To top it all off, she had called him 'Dad'. He felt sick. True, it had obviously been a desperate tactic on her part, but the word had been like a kick in the stomach to him. It hung in the air, even after she had gone, echoing back at him. Dad. _Dad_.

He had contemplated that word before. When he thought about Claudia, and how things might have been between them if they had not quarrelled before she left, he probably would have been "Dad" to that brat. He shuddered at the thought, and yet it also stung him. It was a sharp reminder of what he had lost by his foolish actions. He could have had at this very moment a loving wife and a… well maybe not. Still, although she was a trial, if he had reared her she may not have turned out _so_ bad. She certainly had a quick mind. With the right guidance, she may have even been a credit to him. _May_ have been…

"So, Snape just flipped his lid?" Jamie whispered. It was late, past midnight, and he and Ellie were huddled in a corner of the empty common room.

"Kind of. It wasn't as if he was yelling or anything, but he was really scary. I'll never go and see him alone again."

"But you found out what you wanted. Why would he have reacted like that if there _wasn't_ something up with him and that Malfoy person?"

"Great. Not only is my dad a psycho, he was also a Death Eater. No wonder my mum bolted!"

"So, what's happening next?"

"Well, I'm going home for a few days tomorrow for the funeral. I won't be back until Friday. I hope that Snape will have calmed down by then. It's still another month before term is over."


	27. Life after Mrs Manning

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Life after Mrs. Manning**

Mrs. Manning's funeral was hard on Ellie. It still hadn't sunk in yet that she was really gone. Amelia came with her and stayed with her at the house. Mrs. Collins and her sons also came to the house to begin packing all Mrs. Manning's things up.

On Friday morning, just before Ellie was due to leave with Amelia to go back to Hogwarts, Mrs. Collins took her out to the garden to speak to her.

"I thought you should know dear, that Olivia's will was read last night. She's left you some money."

"Really? That was nice of her."

"Yes. We'll arrange to have it transferred into your Gringotts account. There's something else though. Olivia was holding on to this for you until you came of age, but as it's rightfully yours I think you should have it now."

Mrs. Collins opened her hand to reveal a set of keys. She handed them to Ellie.

"What are they for?"

"Your family's estate dear."

Ellie spluttered.

"My family's _what_?"

"Their estate, their home. Your family was very rich."

"Well, I knew that, but I thought it was just the money in Gringotts. I didn't know there was an _estate_. What kind of estate?" Ellie asked in wonder. Mrs. Collins smiled at her.

"I think you'll have to see for yourself," she told Ellie.

Mrs. Collins went back into the house, leaving Ellie outside alone to try to imagine what an "estate" looked like. She wasn't there long before Amelia joined her.

"Ready to go? I said I'd get you back to Hogwarts by dinner time."

"Amelia, did you ever go to my family's house?"

Mrs. Collins had told Amelia about Mrs. Manning's will so she wasn't surprised by this question.

"Yes, I have. It's a very nice house. I wish we had time to go and see it today, but unfortunately I think we'll have to wait until the summer holidays."

Noting Ellie's disappointed look she added, "Hey, that's only a few weeks from now. It's something to look forward to. Now, come on. We have to get going."

Ellie was sad to say goodbye to the house she had grown up in. Mrs. Collins had already decided to sell it, so it was likely that Ellie would never see it again. Before she and Amelia left, Mrs. Collins gave her a hug and invited her to come and visit her whenever she wanted. A minute later and they were gone.

Amelia and Ellie were going to London first and then travelling to Hogwarts by train. There was no Hogwarts express at this time of year so they had to take a regular (although still from platform nine and three-quarters) train to Hogsmeade. There were a few old witches and wizards on the train too – those who were too old to fly and too feeble to apparate. The train made many stops along the way; it was hours before they finally reached Hogsmeade.

During their long train journey, Ellie brought up a subject that had been worrying her for the last few days.

"Amelia?"

"Mmm?"

"What's going to happen to me now?"

Amelia, who had been looking out the window, turned to face Ellie. She gave her a reassuring smile.

"Afraid you'll be left at Hogwarts all summer?" she asked with a grin.

"No, well yes, but…"

"Hey, don't worry; you'll come to stay with me during the holidays."

"Really?" Ellie asked, delighted by this idea.

"Yeah, of course! I wouldn't just abandon you!"

"So, you really meant it when you said we could visit my family's house?"

"Absolutely!"

Ellie felt more cheerful than she had been for the last week for the rest of the journey. Living with Amelia would be wonderful. A horrifying thought of Dumbledore insisting she go and live with Snape had been keeping her awake for the last few nights.

The groundskeeper, Hagrid, met Ellie at the gates and she and Amelia said goodbye to each other. Hagrid walked her back to the castle, and then Ellie ran inside and to the Great Hall. She was only late by a few minutes to dinner, they would have barely started. She spotted Jamie sitting halfway up the Gryffindor table and made her way to him. He was delighted to see her and made room for her to squeeze in beside him. Ellie glanced quickly up at the staff table and saw Snape, but he was looking at his food and didn't see her. She felt nervous about seeing him again in class on Monday. Their last meeting had been so bizarre.

Ellie spent the rest of the evening in the Gryffindor common room, catching up on what she had missed while she had been away. The end of year exams were coming up shortly and Ellie wanted to do well.

Most of the weekend was spent alternately in the library or in the common room, cramming for exams with Jamie. Ellie felt she should do okay in all of her subjects; she should even do quite well in a few. The subject she should have felt guaranteed to do well in was Potions as it was easily her best subject. She had received the highest mark out of her whole year in it last year. The state of her personal relationship with Snape at the moment led her to wonder if he would mark her harder. She felt sure that Snape couldn't fault her on the written exam, but during the practical element, he might make things difficult. There was still two weeks until the exams started, so Ellie hoped that by then, she and Snape might be in a more amiable place.

The last class of the day on Monday was double Potions. Snape didn't even glance at her when he entered the room and barked out instructions. Ellie worked with Jamie as usual. Jamie filled her in on what she had missed in Snape's lessons last week. Snape meanwhile was walking down the rows of students, inspecting their work. He passed by Ellie and Jamie several times without stopping. Towards the end of the class however he came to a halt in front of Ellie and Jamie's cauldron and said to Ellie in a low voice, "Come to my office after dinner to discuss what you have missed in your absence." If anyone out of the class overheard this it would have sounded perfectly innocent, but the cold look he had given Ellie made her sure that potions lessons would not be the only topic under discussion when she went to see Snape that evening. Jamie squeezed her hand under the table, offering her silent support.

As Ellie walked slowly towards Snape's office that evening, it seemed hard to believe that a full week had passed since she had been there last. It felt like only hours ago. She knocked at the door and he shouted for her to come in. She did, and closed the door behind her.

Snape was standing in front of desk. His expression was cold and emotionless. There was not a hint of anger. Perhaps he did want to discuss lessons after all…

"Take a seat Miss Winterbourne," Snape said, gesturing to a chair as he moved around his desk and took his own seat. Ellie moved forward slowly, not taking her eyes off him, still feeling wary. She had sworn never to be alone with him again and yet here she was. There had been no way out of it. She doubted Professor McGonagall would take too kindly to her refusing to meet with a teacher when told to.

Ellie almost chucked when Snape called her "Miss Winterbourne". It made their situation seem so ridiculous. Still, it was better than "Miss Snape". The very thought made her shudder.

"I trust Miss Winterbourne that you shall endeavour to catch up on what you missed in my lessons during your little jaunt away from the school."

Ellie choked back an indignant cry. She knew Snape well enough to know that he was trying to provoke her anger, for what purpose she was not sure – his own amusement perhaps, or something more sinister. No matter what it was, she was determined not to rise to the bait.

"Yes sir, I shall," she replied in a polite tone. Snape stared at her for a moment, and then Ellie was surprised to see his lips curl into a small smile. True it was a sneering sort of smile, but she had expected him to hurl another biting comment at her. Inside he remained silent. It seemed that by _not_ rising to his bait she had amused him. It was confusing!

Finally, he spoke again.

"About our conversation last week… I presume Amelia Ryan has been filling your head with nonsense?"

It was Ellie's turn to smile to herself. He was still wondering where she had gotten her information from, and obviously, he assumed it was from Amelia. It was a good guess, Ellie thought to herself. She wondered what he would think if she told him that she had heard everything from her own mother, albeit indirectly.

"No, Amelia never discussed anything like that with me, so you can stop suspecting her, _Professor_," Ellie told him. Snape frowned at her. Who the deuce had she been talking to then?

"Anything else, Professor?" Ellie asked in her politest tone. She had a feeling it would annoy him. She was right. His eyes narrowed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Your guardian is of course dead," Snape said slowly.

"Well, yes, I had noticed." It was cheeky, but Ellie knew he wouldn't chastise her, not right now. She could tell where this conversation was leading.

Snape glared at her, but he continued.

"I was wondering about your living arrangements now that you're…"

Ellie stopped him, putting him out of his misery.

"Don't worry," she interjected. "I'm going to live with Amelia. You can breathe easy. No one will come banging on your door."

Ellie was beginning to feel annoyed. She didn't want to live with Snape, but she couldn't help feeling hurt that he so obviously wanted as little to do with her as possible.

Snape looked at her for a moment longer, considering her, which made her feel uncomfortable. Finally, he dismissed her with the wave of a hand. She left as quickly as she could, glad it was over. It had gone better than she had imagined. There had been no shouting and screaming. That was a first since the revelation last week.

Jamie was waiting at the end of the corridor for her, relieved she wasn't running this time and that she looked okay. Things had clearly gone better this time.

"He was worried about where I was going to live," Ellie explained. Jamie looked at her in disbelief, causing Ellie to laugh.

"He was worried I might have to go and live with _him_," Ellie explained. Jamie thought he could detect a hint of disappointment in Ellie's tone.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course I am. Come on, we have a ton of work to do."


	28. End of Term

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: End of Term**

The exams week finally arrived, and stressed out students littered the corridors of Hogwarts. It was almost impossible to squeeze into the library. The common room was almost as bad. Older students filled up the tables as they crammed frantically for their OWLs and NEWTs.

Ellie was as caught up in the stress and tension as everyone else. All thoughts of Snape were banished as she tried to memorise an entire year's worth of Charms notes in one evening. She had a minor disaster in her History of Magic exam when she couldn't for the life of her remember who exactly the Great Algernon DeMarlo was and what he had contributed to Wizarding society in the 1800's, but every other exam went well in comparison. She felt she answered every question on the Potions exam perfectly. The last exam was the practical Potions exam, and it went off without a hitch. Snape even deigned to smile satisfactorily when she triumphantly handed in her mixture. He gave her an approving nod.

"Very good Miss Winterbourne," he muttered, taking the bottle from her. She was surprised by his reaction, but she didn't dwell on it too much. Exams were over! In just over a week, the holidays would be starting and she was going to stay with Amelia. They were going to visit her mother's home where there were sure to be many of her things. Jamie would be spending the summer in America as usual but Amelia had mentioned in a letter that they might be able to go to California themselves as Amelia had some contacts there and then Ellie could visit Jamie. It all sounded wonderful!

During a quiet moment alone, Ellie's thoughts drifted to Snape and she wondered how he spent his holidays. She had heard a third year student asking Professor McGonagall if teachers stayed at the castle during the summer and she said no. Snape must have a home somewhere. Ellie wondered what it was like. For a wild moment, she wondered did Snape actually have a family of his own somewhere – a wife and children, and that's why he didn't seem keen on having their true relationship to each other becoming public knowledge. Ellie realised she knew nothing about Snape's life outside of Hogwarts. His family, who by extension were _her_ family, were a complete mystery to her. Did she have any brothers or sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents? Snape was a very cold and reserved person but that didn't necessarily mean he didn't have any family. She was proof of that. Ellie wondered if she asked Snape would he tell her anything.

Probably not, she thought upon reflection. If he _did_ have a family, the last thing he would want was for her to find out enough information to pop up at their house unexpectedly. Not that she would, but Snape might think she would. She could not help feeling a flicker of jealousy of this imaginary family that she had conjured up for Snape, but she quickly dismissed it.

The exam results were announced and Ellie went red with pleasure to discover that, for the second year running, she had come top of her year in Potions. Classes were now over as students and staff alike prepared to go home for the holidays. Ellie had not seen Snape since the last exam, apart from in the Great Hall at meal times, and even then, he hadn't been looking at her at the same time that she looked at him. It felt strange to be leaving soon after all that had happened in the last month. Apart from her first outburst and Snape's allusions to her living arrangements, they had never attempted to discuss the situation that now existed between them. Ellie wondered if this was normal. This man was her father – surely, they should have a million things to say to each other. As it was, during the last few weeks of lessons he had barely glanced in her direction and his words of praise after her Potions exam was the only time when Ellie felt that Snape could even stand her, let alone like her. Even then, his praise was that of a teacher, not necessarily of a parent. All in all Ellie felt confused about her relationship with Snape, and how she should be approaching it.

The last day of term arrived, and the Entrance Hall was packed with excited students, waiting to be taken to the Hogwarts Express. Ellie stood with a group of Gryffindors, all talking over each other about their holiday plans. Ellie wasn't paying much attention to the conversation. Her thoughts were still on Snape. She was about to leave for almost two months. Should she go and say goodbye? She had half-hoped he would appear in the Entrance Hall, like so many of the other teachers, to at least say goodbye to his Slytherin students, but there was no sign of him. She decided to slip away and see if he was in his office. She at least wanted to thank him for her Potions mark. She whispered to Jamie that she would be back in a minute, and made her way towards the dungeons.

A few minutes later, she was knocking on Snape's office door.

"Yes?" a voice from within answered.

Ellie gingerly opened the door and popped her head inside the room.

"Professor?"

Snape was sitting at his desk. He looked up, and his expression changed from mild irritation to surprise when he saw Ellie.

"Come in," he said, and she moved the rest of her body around the door.

"I just came to say thanks," she told him. He gave her a puzzled look.

"For my Potions marks," she explained.

"There's no need to thank me. Your marks reflected your work. It seems you have quite a gift for potion-making," he said. Ellie blushed, and was that a hint of pride in Snape's voice?

"Um, I also wanted to say goodbye. I'm going home for the holidays in a minute so…" She trailed off, beginning to feel embarrassed. It didn't help that Snape was giving her a piercing stare.

"I see," he mumbled, more to himself than to her.

"Well, goodbye then," he added, in a louder, colder tone. His face was hard and expressionless, betraying no emotion. Ellie began to wish that she hadn't come. She was making a fool of herself.

"Right, bye," she said quickly, and hurried out of the office and back to the Entrance Hall, her cheeks burning.

"What were you thinking?" she said to herself. "Never again!"


	29. bad News

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Bad News**

The summer holidays started off very well. Amelia met Ellie at the train station. Amelia had been living in London for the last few months in a big flat in Knightsbridge. The first few days were wonderful as Amelia took her sightseeing about the city and took her shopping and to the theatre. Ellie had never enjoyed herself so much in her life.

Ellie began to wonder what exactly Amelia did for a living. Her flat was very big and judging by the things she had bought her, she wasn't in want of money, yet she didn't seem to have a job to go to. That worked out well for Ellie as it meant Amelia had a lot of time available to spend with her, but Ellie still felt curious.

One evening, Ellie decided to ask, hoping the question wouldn't sound too rude.

"Amelia? I was just wondering, do you have a job?"

Amelia chuckled.

"Trying to get rid of me?" she asked playfully.

"No! I'm just wondering."

"Well, I do have a job of sorts, but I'm afraid I can't tell you too much about it."

"Why not?"

"Secrecy is a part of the job. Couldn't tell you if my life depended on it."

"Are you on a holiday at the moment?"

"Not exactly. My job has very busy periods and then quiet periods. This is a quiet one. Hopefully it'll last for the rest of your holidays."

"What if it doesn't?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens."

After spending a week in London, Amelia took Ellie to visit some old school friends. Amelia's friends were nice to her, and had many stories to tell about her mum. While Ellie was still enjoying herself, she was longing to visit her family's home. Amelia had promised to take her during the holidays, and now they were here. She broached the subject with Amelia, who promised to bring her to see the house soon. Before that could happen, disaster struck.

Ellie and Amelia were sitting down to breakfast in their hotel, when Amelia's owl flew in the window and dropped a letter on her head. Luckily, there were no Muggles around to see. Amelia opened up the letter and began to read it. Ellie could tell by her expression that the letter contained something that bothered her.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Amelia frowned.

"Not really. Remember those busy periods at work I told you about?"

Ellie nodded, a sinking feeling in her stomach starting to take hold.

"Well, looks like we've just entered one of them. They need me to come in," Amelia continued.

"Oh, so we have to go back to London?" Ellie asked, disappointed. This would probably mean they couldn't go and see the house.

Amelia shook her head.

"No. The job's not in London. They need me to go somewhere else," Amelia said, sounding annoyed.

A horrible thought struck Ellie.

"I can go with you though, right?" she asked.

The expression on Amelia's face told Ellie all she needed to know, but Amelia confirmed it to her.

"Unfortunately, you can't."

"So, what happens to me? Are you going to send me back to Hogwarts?"

"No, there's no one there to look after you. I'll think of something, don't worry."

Ellie felt bitterly disappointed at this sudden turn of events. She should have known that this holiday was too good to be true. Who knows where she would end up now? Maybe Mrs. Collins would take her for a while. That would be okay, she supposed.

Amelia left Ellie in the charge of some friends and then disappeared for the morning. When she came back, she took Ellie back to the hotel to pack their things. She announced that she'd found Ellie a place to stay.

"Where? With Mrs. Collins?" Ellie asked, as they walked up the steps and into the hotel foyer.

"Er, no," Amelia said. Ellie thought that Amelia was looking strangely at her. A moment later she found out why.

"You're going to your father's house," Amelia admitted.

"_WHAT_?"

Ellie's shout was so loud that other people in the room turned to look at them. Amelia hurried Ellie away to her room, as Ellie spluttered in disbelief.

"You must be joking!" Ellie finally said.

"Ellie, it was the best I could do on short notice. I've been apparating all over the place. He's the only one that could take you for so long."

"So long? How long is going to be?" Ellie cried.

"Well, it might be for the rest of the holidays," Amelia admitted reluctantly.

"The rest of the holidays! With Snape? No! I can't do that!" Ellie cried desperately.

"Please Ellie! Hopefully it won't be for too long. I'll do my best, but I need you to do this, for me. Please!"

Ellie groaned. She felt like kicking the table. The last time she had seen Snape she had come away feeling like a prized idiot. It took a few minutes before Ellie could even think about Snape without sighing in exasperation. Amelia remained silent and let her vent her frustrations, feeling guilty that she had suddenly been called away like this. She knew the arrangement was far from ideal, and she didn't blame Ellie for being disappointed.

Amelia and Ellie packed their things, left the hotel and headed to the nearest train station. Ellie remained mostly silent. A new thought was occurring to her. She had been curious about Snape's home outside of Hogwarts, and now she was going to see it. It was almost exciting, if it wasn't for the fact that she wouldn't be able to leave once her curiosity had been satisfied.

Ellie was surprised that Snape had agreed to this at all. She would never have anticipated that. She was curious about how Amelia forced Snape to say yes to this arrangement.

"What did you say to him to make him agree?" Ellie asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on! I'm not exactly his favourite person. You must have had to work on him."

"He was surprisingly helpful actually. When I did think of him initially, what put me off was that I thought he'd tell me to get lost to be honest. Don't take that the wrong way, you know what he's like."

Ellie nodded. She definitely knew what he was like.

"Anyway, it turned out he didn't need much convincing at all. It was a huge weight off my mind."

Ellie sniggered as a sudden thought occurred to her.

"So how did you approach him? Did you go banging on his door?" Ellie asked in an innocent voice, although Amelia noticed a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Well yes, I suppose I did," she answered, wondering why this amused Ellie so much as Ellie collapsed with laughter against the window.

"What's the joke?" Amelia asked.

"Oh," Ellie said, rubbing tears from her eyes, "it's nothing. Don't worry about it!"

Ellie made a mental note to store that joke away for future reference. Being nice to Snape had gotten her nowhere before, apart from making her feel stupid. Being cheeky was much more fun and made those long stares more bearable.

Amelia and Ellie fell into a comfortable silence, and familiar questions began to pose themselves to Ellie. What kind of family, if any, did Snape have? Was he married? Did he have any other children? Brothers, sisters, parents? Ellie was being to feel quite nervous.

Ellie and Amelia changed trains once. Ellie got some odd looks as she sat on the platform waiting for the next train with her owl, Helga, in her cage beside her.

The journey took several hours, but eventually Amelia told Ellie that they were getting out at the next stop. Ellie began to feel very anxious. Her stomach was in knots.

When they left the train and walked through the station Ellie could not help noticing that their surroundings felt rather shabby. It certainly was not what they expected. Amelia found a number of a taxi firm printed on a poster and called for a taxi to take them the rest of the way to Snape's house. They only had to wait a few minutes for the taxi to arrive. The driver looked hesitantly at Helga, but said nothing.

Once they were in the taxi and on the way, Ellie's opinion of the area didn't improve. It seemed very run down. Mrs. Manning would have been horrified if she could see it. When the taxi pulled up outside the last in a row of dilapidated looking houses Ellie felt like tapping the driver on the shoulder and telling him he must have the wrong address. Snape, so pompous and proper, couldn't live _here_.

The curtains of the front window were shut, but Ellie saw a face peep out from the corner of her eye as she got out of the car. A moment later the door opened and Snape walked out, his black robes looking suddenly ridiculous in these surroundings. Ellie noticed the taxi driver giving Snape an odd stare as he took Ellie's luggage out of the boot of his car.

"What's his story?" he muttered to Ellie. Ellie suppressed a laugh.

"Fancy dress party," Ellie replied, saying the first thing that came into her head.

"Is that what the bird's for?" he asked, gesturing at Helga.

"Er, yeah," Ellie said.

The driver nodded, and looked like he wanted to laugh at Snape. Ellie felt she should warn the driver that he might regret it if he did.

Amelia paid the driver, who tipped his cap to Snape before he got into the car. Ellie resisted another urge to giggle as Snape gave the man a sneering look as he drove off.

"Severus!" Amelia began cheerfully.

"You're late," he replied curtly.

"Oh, well, we had to take the train you know. Ellie can't apparate."

"Come in," he said, not even paying attention to Amelia's explanation. He turned and walked into the house. Amelia waited until he was out of view before mocking him.

"You're late!" she repeated to herself in a low, but silly voice. Ellie suppressed another giggle as she followed Amelia into the house.

Once inside, Ellie felt for the first time that this could be Snape's home. They were inside a small sitting room that was lined, wall to ceiling, with books. Ellie gaped as she looked around in wonder.

"Thank you for doing this Severus," Amelia said.

"Not at all," he drawled in reply. "May I offer you some refreshments?" he added.

"No thank you. I must be off."

Ellie's stomach lurched as Amelia said this. She was going to be left alone with him. She didn't know if she could bare it.

Amelia took her aside and whispered to her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Just send word to me through Helga if you have any problems. She'll know where to find me. You'll be okay. Sorry I'll miss your birthday. I'll send you something."

Reminding her that her birthday was three days away and she would be spending it with Snape of all people made Ellie feel even worse.

Amelia hugged Ellie, said goodbye to Snape, and then disapparated away. Ellie was left alone with Snape.


	30. The Odd Couple

**Author's Notes: James Jago:** Frell, you guessed the ending! I won't say which one is right. :-p

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty: The Odd Couple**

After Amelia left there was an awkward silence that lasted a few minutes. Ellie began to wish that the floor would open and swallow her, or even better, Snape, who was staring at her.

"Er, nice place you've got here," Ellie finally said, breaking the silence. Snape sneered.

"It's not, but thank you anyway."

Well this is off to a great start, Ellie thought. She began tapping her fingers nervously on her trunk.

"Please don't do that," Snape said slowly. Ellie stopped immediately.

"Through that door you'll find a staircase. Your room is upstairs, first door on your left," Snape said.

"Thanks," Ellie replied, glad to leave the room, wheeling her trunk behind her, with Helga's cage in one hand. The door led her into a dark, narrow passageway. As Snape said, there was a staircase, and further down the passage was another door. Ellie couldn't bring both her trunk and Helga's cage up the stairs together so she left her trunk at the bottom and went up the creaky stairs. When she reached the top, she found herself on a small landing with four doors leading off it. All were closed. She opened the first door on her left and went inside.

The room was small, and very bare. The only furniture was a bed in the corner under the window, whose curtains were closed, and a narrow wardrobe. There was no carpet on the floor to cover the rickety floorboards. Ellie wasn't sure what to make of it. She set Helga's cage down on the bed and went to retrieve her trunk.

Ellie spent a long time unpacking. She hung her clothes up with much better care than she ever had at her old home with Mrs. Manning, primarily because the more careful she was, the longer she took and thus the longer she could avoid Snape. She felt her stomach beginning to growl and she realised it had been a long time since her last meal, and that had only been a sandwich bought on the train. She didn't feel like going downstairs to ask Snape what was for dinner however.

When Ellie was finished with her trunk, she parked it under the bed and then sat down. So far, it looked as if Snape lived alone. No other family then. It was for the best, Ellie supposed. If Snape had been married then his wife would probably have resented her. And as for kids – they'd be as slimy as he was. A moment later Ellie laughed to herself over that thought. _She_ wasn't anything like him. In fact, to look at, you would hardly believe they were related, and thank goodness for that.

Ellie began to feel curious about the other rooms. Snape had not said she _couldn't_ go into them. There would be no harm in taking a quick peak…

She looked down the stairs first, to make sure Snape wasn't about. She heard some muffled noises coming from one of the rooms downstairs, which meant that Snape must be busy with something. Excellent!

She started with the door opposite her own. Inside was a room much like hers, only smaller. The room beside it was a bathroom. It looked quite old, but barely usable. The last room was the one beside hers. The door was locked. Ellie was intrigued by this. What did Snape want to hide from her?

"Looking for something?"

Ellie jumped away from the door and looked nervously to her left. Snape was standing at the top of the stairs, glaring at her.

"Er, no," she squeaked, her heart beating furiously. Was he going to be angry with her?

"Dinner is ready," he said, and then walked back down the stairs. Ellie stayed put for a moment, calming herself down. How did he move about so quietly? The stairs had creaked like anything every time she went up it!

As she walked down, she noted the creaking again, and shook her head. Had he apparated up the stairs? What was the point of that? The remote chance of startling her if she happened to be snooping about which, admittedly, she was, perhaps.

Snape was waiting for her at the end of the passage, in front of the second door. He passed through and she followed him into a small kitchen. It looked a bit out of date. Snape gestured to a small table in the corner. Ellie sat down and Snape put a plate down in front of her. She wasn't sure what was on it – it looked like a stew of some sort. It didn't look very appetising. Snape sat down opposite her, shook out a paper, and began to read it as he ate. Clearly, he didn't want to speak to her. Ellie attempted to eat her food but it tasted about as good as it looked. Ellie forced down as much as she could out of politeness. When she had eaten as much as she could bear, she wasn't sure what to do next. Snape was still reading his paper. Ellie had always done most of the housework at home, and had she been there she would have waited until Mrs. Manning was finished and then washed the dishes. Snape seemed to be taking his time though and Ellie didn't want to sit there all night. She debated whether to ask to be excused and whether Snape would find that rude, considering she really hadn't eaten all that much of whatever he had made. She didn't want him to take offence. She felt at a loss.

"Are you finished?" Snape asked suddenly. Ellie was startled to hear his voice after the long silence.

"Um, yeah."

"You may leave if you wish."

"Okay. Thanks," she said, and hurried away and back up to her room. She collapsed on the bed face down and groaned. This was horrible! It was worse than she had expected it to be. Was this what it is going to be like the whole time she was here? Hiding up in her room and only coming down for (wholly unappetising) meals? It would be a nightmare! What was she meant to do with herself all day?

Ellie remained upstairs for the rest of the evening. She quickly discovered there was no running electricity in the house so she had to make do with candles when it got darker. Her thoughts drifted again to the locked room beside hers, but she didn't dare go out to even look through the keyhole in case Snape appeared again. Maybe tomorrow…

Tomorrow came after a long night of tossing and turning in the lumpy bed. It was early when Ellie woke up. She didn't feel like lying in bed so she decided to tackle the bathroom. She washed quickly and resolved to give the place a good clean later on. At least it would be something to do. Judging by the state of Snape's hair, he probably rarely used the bathroom anyway so hopefully he would not be offended.

Ellie tied her wet hair up, got dressed and went downstairs. She wondered where Snape slept. She had not heard him come upstairs. Was that other small room his? It didn't look lived in. Maybe the locked room was his, although Ellie didn't know why he would lock the door. What was he hiding?

Ellie went into the kitchen. It was empty. She looked through the cupboards for something that might do for breakfast. She was starving. She quickly discovered that Snape did not keep much food in his house. No wonder he was so sallow looking and lanky if he didn't eat properly. She found a bag of apples and grabbed one. It would do. She sat at the table and ate it. Snape still didn't appear. When she was finished she tossed the remains in a bin and decided to peak into the sitting room. It was empty so she went inside. She inspected the rows of books. Many of them looked old. Judging by their titles, a lot dealt with the Dark Arts. Ellie had heard that Snape was supposed to be fascinated by the Dark Arts, and his library of books was not contradicting that rumour. Ellie pulled out a particularly interesting volume on hexes, Devin Farley at the back of her mind, eager to take a peak inside. A hand pulled the book swiftly away from her and she turned instinctively to see Snape standing right behind her. He didn't look angry, as she might have expected.

"Not yet, Miss Winterbourne," he told her.

"I was just…" Ellie began but he waved his arm lazily at her, not caring about her explanation.

"You have an awful lot of books," Ellie said.

"A fair few," he admitted.

"Have you read them all?"

"Yes."

"Wow!"

Snape looked amused for a moment.

"Sit down Miss Winterbourne; I want to talk to you."

Ellie gulped. Maybe he _was_ angry at her snooping.

"I've had a look at your school report for the last year. It was… adequate, but it could be better."

Ellie snorted indignantly.

"_Adequate_? I got one of the highest marks of the year!"

"Exactly. You could easy have gotten the top mark if you had put some effort in," he said.

"What? I put plenty of effort in!" she cried, annoyed.

"Oh really? In between gallivanting around with Mr. Logan, I'm sure you may have opened a book or two, but I don't think you gave it your all. However, we can rectify that."

Ellie forgot all about feeling awkward around Snape. She felt the sudden urge to smack him. Gallivanting around with Jamie? That was ridiculous! Surely, she was allowed to have friends.

"What do you mean, 'rectify that'?"

"I mean that we are going to have some extra lessons. You'll be at a distinct advantage when you go back in September. Mark my words."

Ellie groaned.

"Extra lessons? You've got to be joking!"

"I don't joke, Miss Winterbourne."

Ellie suddenly sniggered. Coming after Snape's assertion that he didn't joke this perhaps was not the wisest thing to do, but Ellie had suddenly been struck again by the absurdity of her father calling her "Miss Winterbourne". Now that they were not at Hogwarts, it seemed even more ridiculous.

Snape frowned at her.

"May I ask what is so amusing Miss Winterbourne?" he sneered.

Ellie just laughed even more, although now she wanted to stop. She managed to compose herself enough to splutter out a response.

"It's just… it's funny… you calling Miss Winterbourne like that," Ellie explained between giggles. A cold look sobered her up, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"Why?"

Ellie almost laughed again. _Why_? Well duh, she felt like saying (but wisely decided not to).

"Well," she began, a bemused smile on her face, "because I'm…"

He looked expectantly at her.

"…I'm… your daughter," she finished hesitantly. He flinched, but his expression remained emotionless.

"I think it you've earned the right to call me by my first name, don't you?" she added more firmly. She knew this would probably sound a bit cheeky to Snape, but if he was going to stare at her like that then he would have to get used to it. She couldn't bear it otherwise. It made her feel too uncomfortable.

Snape sighed and Ellie caught him rolling his eyes.

"Right, Eleanora then," he said coldly.

"Um, actually, I prefer Ellie," she interjected. He glared at her.

"Why do you prefer such a ridiculous nickname?"

She scoffed, knowing he wanted to annoy her.

"Wouldn't you if your name was Eleanora? If I'd have gone to school with _that_ name I'd have been beaten up," she said. "I don't know why my mum, or whoever named me (Snape flinched again at this) thought it was a good idea to name a child Eleanora," Ellie added.

A thought struck Ellie.

"Did you not ever have a nickname?"

"No," Snape replied, as if Ellie had just asked a very foolish question with an obvious answer.

"Really? With a name like Severus? You never went for Sev or something like that?"

Snape's eyes narrowed and he glared so coldly at Ellie that she shrank back.

Too far, she told herself.

There was silence for a moment, until Snape's loud voice broke it.

"Fine, _Ellie_," he said, sounding irritated.

"Thanks Professor," Ellie said. It was Snape's turn to smile, albeit sneeringly.

"_Professor_?" he repeated in a mocking tone.

Ellie laughed awkwardly, but then a terrifying thought striking her.

"You don't… you don't want me to… to call you…_ Dad_?" she asked, sounding horrified at the very idea of it.

"Absolutely not," he snapped, glaring angrily at her.

Ellie sighed with relief.

"Do you have your school books?" he asked, sounding frustrated.

"Yeah, they're upstairs."

"Go and get them."

Ellie did as she was told. This was going to be a _long_ summer.


	31. Ellie's Birthday

**Author's Notes: **Mr. **duh **(nice name by the way), if you take a look at the first chapter, right before the disclaimer is this line, "This story is set about three years before the Harry Potter series begins." Now, my numerical skills are awful (I'm nought but a humble statistician), but since Ellie is about to turn thirteen (in this chapter!), that puts Harry at about nine, going on ten very shortly (about two weeks in fact). I think we can safely assume Snape is still at Hogwarts and Dumbledore is safe for a while. ;-)

This isn't a hint (merely a factual statement), but I tend to update quicker when I feel people like the story. Obviously, I'm supposed to be doing other things besides writing this, but I just can't say no when people ask me to update. :-D

**Chapter Thirty-One: Ellie's Birthday**

"Now, the Dark Arts are fascinating study…"

Snape was droning on and on and _on_. Ellie could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and she struggled to look alert. Snape had spent most of yesterday coaching her on some Charms and Transfiguration work. Clearly yesterday had just been a build up to Snape's favourite subject – the Dark Arts. Snape's eyes were positively glowing as he explained about Unforgivable Curses. When Ellie asked if he had ever used one against another person (the Death Eater stuff in the back of her mind), he merely glared at her and continued with his speech. For the first time, Snape mentioned his family, or rather his mother's family, the Princes, who were, according to him, very proficient in the Dark Arts.

That's just wonderful that is, Ellie thought gloomily to herself. Her mother really knew how to pick 'em.

Most of the day was spent practicing hexes. Ellie supposed they could come in handy if Devin Farley started bothering her again. Snape seemed pleased at her progress. More than once a, "Very good Ellie," escaped his lips.

"With some more work you'll be up to OWL standard," Snape told her.

Snape apparently didn't believe in lunch, as they didn't stop until it was getting late. Ellie felt as if she would faint, and Snape seemed to realise he was probably supposed to keep her fed, as well as training her up. He handed her a book and told her to read the first chapter while he made dinner. Ellie sat down with the book but ignored it. She was too hungry to start reading about vampires. She also half-wondered if giving her a book on vampires was a hint of some sort…

Snape summoned her to the kitchen a while later and what he put down in front of her looked like something a dog might have thrown up. Ellie didn't even want to try it. Again, Snape folded out a newspaper and began to read it. Ellie looked around furtively, seeing if there was somewhere she could hide some of this muck so it looked like she'd eaten it. She knew Snape had sharp eyes (like a vampire?) so it would have to be somewhere right beside her. Her eyes fell on an old dishcloth that was on the floor near her chair. That might do.

She tried putting her foot out to pull it towards her but she couldn't reach. She didn't want to lean down and grab it herself, as that would attract Snape's attention. A brilliant idea struck her however and she "accidentally" dropped her knife on the ground, very close to the dishcloth.

"Oops," she said, as Snape stared at her briefly, but he then went back to his paper. She leaned down, and scooped up the knife and dishcloth together and sat back up quickly. Snape did not seem to notice anything. Gently, she scrapped some food off the plate and into the dishcloth that was resting on her lap. When she was satisfied that it looked like she had made a decent attempt at eating the food, and when it was also apparent that the cloth would not hold much more, she fold the cloth up and dropped it down on the corner on her left side, between her chair and the wall. Snape was not likely to notice it unless he pulled the table out. Ellie could get rid of it tomorrow morning.

Snape didn't want her for the rest of the evening so she escaped up to her room. Tomorrow was her thirteenth birthday but Ellie had a feeling it wouldn't be a good day. If she heard from Jamie and Amelia though, it might be more bearable.

Ellie got up very early the next morning. She had to get rid of last night's dinner before Snape found it rotting away in the corner. Ellie felt sure she would weigh considerably less by the time her stay with Snape was over at this rate.

She crept downstairs as best she could on the noisy stairs, eventually hopping over the banister halfway down to save on the noise. Luckily, Snape was not in the kitchen. She grabbed the rolled up dishcloth and threw it in the bin. Next, she scrimmaged around for some food. She had been relying on apples for the last couple of days but they were starting to look a bit mouldy to her and she wasn't quite hungry enough to chance one.

"This is ridiculous!" she muttered. She would have to talk to Snape about going down to the shops and buying some proper food. The train station had been on a high street and it couldn't be too far away. The drive to the house had only taken a few minutes. For a wild moment, she considered sneaking out before Snape got up. She had plenty of Muggle money with her from her time in London with Amelia. She could ask anyone about for directions to the shops, and she was sure she could find her way. Snape may be angry, but she could just say she was out for a walk. She could get some small things and smuggle them into the house in her bag.

She decided to go for it. The worst that would happen is that she may get lost, so she would just have to make a note of the way she came so she could find her way back to the house. If Snape wanted to punish her later then he could – the last few days had been like having all day detentions with Snape anyway so things couldn't get much worse.

Ellie climbed up over the banister again to avoid half the steps, and trod as lightly as she could up the rest. She fetched her bag and some money, and tucked her wand into her pocket – just in case. Then it was down some steps, over the banister (she was getting to be a dab hand at that) and into the sitting room. She crept towards the door and had her hand on the latch when a hand on her shoulder pulled her back and swung her around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Snape asked, not looking happy.

"Oh! Um, for a walk," Ellie said, knowing it sounded feeble.

"No walks," he said loudly and slowly. "Now sit down," he snapped.

Ellie didn't like the tone Snape was using. Why the hell shouldn't she be able to get some fresh air at least?

"I've been cooped up in here for three days," Ellie said, ignoring Snape's gesturing to the sofa.

"Do as I tell you," he said, sounding annoyed and took a seat in an armchair. A paper had been rolled up under his arm and he shook it out.

Ellie stood at the door for a minute, seriously contemplating just going out anyway, and slamming the door behind her. Snape looked up from his paper to her.

"Sit," he spat.

Ellie rolled her eyes but did as she was told. He might turn her into a frog or something if she did storm out.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, save for the rustling of Snape's paper and the rumbling of Ellie's stomach. Ellie was beginning to feel very bored when she heard a tapping noise from somewhere in the room. It got louder, and even Snape looked up from his paper.

"Are you doing that?" he asked, in an accusing tone.

"No," Ellie said, standing up. She began to move about the room. The noise seemed to be coming from the window. She moved closer, and pulled the curtain back. On the other side, she saw a big brown owl pecking at the windowpane. Her face broke into a smile. She recognised the owl – it was Jamie's, and he was carrying a package.

"It's an owl," she said to Snape, and ran to the door before Snape could stop her to let the owl in. He flew in and circled the room, swooping past Snape's shoulder, before dropping the package in Ellie's arms.

"Thanks!" she said to the owl, which then flew out the door. Snape had jumped up and he slammed the door shut. Ellie had rushed to the sofa with her package and was tearing it open. Snape went back to his paper, but kept a curious eye on Ellie's package.

Ellie undid the paper and pulled it open. Inside were a box of chocolate frogs and another box of American sweets. There were also photos of Jamie and a letter.

"Couldn't that wait until you got back to school?" Snape said.

"No."

"Why not?"

Ellie wondered if other kids had to explain to their dads that it was their birthday when they got presents in the post.

"Because… today is…" Ellie began, feeling slightly annoyed, but Snape cut her off.

"I _know_ what day it is," he stated, turning back to his paper.

"Well then why did you ask," Ellie muttered to herself.

Without looking up from his paper, Snape pulled something out of his robes and tossed it at her. She had to jump up to catch it. It was a book. The pages were dog-eared and the cover was almost coming off. It had obviously been read many times. Why was Snape giving this to her? She looked at him, but he was buried in the newspaper.

She opened the book, and written on the first page was a small inscription:

_Give it a try, for me._

_C._

_xxx_

Ellie recognised her mother's small handwriting immediately. She was more curious than ever. She turned over the first few pages, and the name Eleanora jumped out at her. She flipped through the entire book, and it became obvious to her that the main character in the book was called Eleanora – just like she was. Had she been named after this character then?

She gazed up at Snape, waiting for an explanation. Without looking at her Snape stated that, "It was your mother's favourite book."

So _that's_ why she was called Eleanora! Her mother must have developed a fondness for the name because she loved the book. Ellie smiled to herself. Suddenly she didn't hate her name anymore.

Ellie looked up at Snape with a newfound respect. When she had been complaining about her name a few days ago, he must have thought of this book and known it would make her feel better about it. Was it his? Had her mum giving it to him? "Give it a try for me. C." That certainly sounded like she had. She didn't like to ask Snape, who was still apparently lost in his paper, but she did give him a big smile, even though he couldn't see it.

She turned back to the first chapter of the book, curled up on the sofa and began to read. She had gotten through about a quarter of the book before she realised that Snape hadn't hassled her about lessons today. He was still in the room, and when Ellie had first looked up, she could have sworn he had been looking at her, but he stood up immediately and began moving around. Ellie also became aware that her stomach was not happy with her. She would have to find someone edible in the house, or convince Snape to let her go out to the shops. Both seemed hopeless.

She already knew what was, or perhaps more appropriately what _wasn't_, in the kitchen, so it would have to be option B if she didn't want to starve to death.

"Professor Snape, I couldn't help noticing you're running a bit low on food," Ellie began.

"Been nosing about, have you?" he replied.

Ellie ignored this.

"I could go to the shops if you want," she offered.

"That won't be necessary."

"I'm not a bad cook you know. I just need a few basic ingredients…"

"Why are you so intent on leaving this house?" he asked suddenly. He sounded suspicious. Ellie felt at a loss. Did he think she was trying to run away or something? What was the big deal about her going out?

It wasn't unreasonable, Ellie thought, that she'd want to stretch her legs a bit. Plus, a change of scenery would be nice. Ellie had a feeling Snape would not understand these sentiments, but a sudden idea flashed into her head, something she had seen on a TV show, that might just get her out for the afternoon.

"Well you see," Ellie began in a low voice, "I need to pick up some… feminine products," she finished with a wicked glint in her eye, although she feigned embarrassment as much as could by avoiding eye contact with Snape.

Snape reacted immediately. The sneering expression vanished from his face and he recoiled with a mixture of terror, horror and acute embarrassment. It took every ounce of self-restraint Ellie had to keep a straight face and not immediately burst into laughter. Flustered, Snape began to babble incoherently, but finally he made enough sense for Ellie to understand that he would take her out. He tapped a bookcase behind him and it swung open silently to reveal a passageway. Ellie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn't know about that! Snape disappeared through and the opening shut after him. Ellie immediately collapsed on the floor, rolling around with laughter, tears coming to her eyes. She wished she could have taken a picture of Snape's face when she mentioned "feminine products". She would never be afraid of him again after this!

Snape appeared out of the strange opening a few minutes later, dressed in Muggle clothes. Ellie thought he looked very strange without his robes. He was wearing a pair of dark trousers and he had a dark shirt on. A dark blazer completed his outfit. Without a word to Ellie, he went straight to the door and opened it. Ellie grabbed her bag and followed him out, feeling triumphant.

She walked beside him in silence. They walked down several streets that looked virtually the same to the one Snape lived on, until they came to a busy looking road. There was a bus stop halfway down on the pavement, with a bench beside it. Snape walked up to it and sat down on the bench. Ellie took a seat beside him. It didn't seem as if Snape was going to break the silence, so Ellie began to talk.

"Why do you live here?"

Ellie hoped it didn't sound too cheeky, but it was something she was very curious about. She would never in a million years have suspected that Snape lived here if she passed by it in a car.

"It was my parents' house," was Snape's explanation.

"So are your parents…"

"Dead? Yes."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be."

_Okaaay_, Ellie thought to herself.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No."

"What about aunts, uncles, cousins…?"

"No."

"Any relatives at all?"

"No!" Snape snapped.

"Okay," Ellie muttered to herself, and began to look up and down the road.

After a pause, Snape spoke again.

"Why are you so interested in my family?"

Ellie laughed, and he glared at her. She looked away for a moment, until she could maintain a straight face.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Well, it's just that's a weird question to ask me," Ellie explained.

"Why?"

"Because, I thought it would be obvious why I'm interested in your family."

Snape's turned his gaze to the path in front of them. Ellie felt he was considering her answer. She decided to continue with her point.

"Wouldn't you be, if you were me?" she asked. Snape glance sideways at her.

"I mean, if you were raised without any parents, and nobody would tell you anything about them, and then suddenly you meet one of them, wouldn't you want to know as much about them as you could?"

Snape allowed this question to sink in before answering.

"I suppose so," he finally said, turning his face away from her again.

"Is this where you grew up?" Ellie asked. She could see the corner of Snape's mouth curl up. He turned back to face her.

"So now that I've sympathised with you, I'm to be subjected to more questions, is that it?"

Ellie thought he seemed amused, so she decided to follow his lead.

"Pretty much, yeah," she said playfully, giving him a wicked grin.

The small smile remained on Snape's face.

"To answer your question, yes, this is where I grew up – when I wasn't at Hogwarts that is."

"Which one of your parents was a Muggle?"

Snape turned and gave her an irritated look.

"Who told you about that?" he asked quickly.

"I didn't hear it from anyone in school if that's what you're worried about."

"I suppose I have Amelia to thank for it then?"

Ellie remained silent. She would let him think that for a while if it would get him to answer the question. Snape took Ellie's silence as a yes.

"My father," he said curtly.

"Did you get along with your parents?" Ellie asked, recalling her mother's comment in her diary about Snape not coming from a happy home.

"Does it matter?" Snape replied.

"I suppose not," Ellie said, taking the hint that he didn't want to discuss it.

They lapsed into silence until a bus turned into the street. Snape stood up and Ellie did the same.

The bus stopped for them and Snape paid for both of them. He looked about the bus with an air of mild disgust, and took a seat. Ellie sat beside him.

"Do you get the bus often?" Ellie asked with interest.

"Of course not!" he cried in a low voice.

"Oh. I like the bus, you often see the most interesting people…"

"Do you always talk so much?" he interjected.

"No, I don't think so…"

"Then don't," he snapped, not waiting for to finish.

"Fine," she mumbled.

Ellie looked around at the other passengers. There were three old women and a teenage girl. Ellie wondered what each of them would think if they knew that there was a witch and a wizard sitting on the bus with them. Of course, on the other hand, they could all be witches themselves! Ellie wondered if there was some way of distinguishing between Muggles and magical people just based on how they looked. She must ask Snape when they got home…

When the bus got to the High Street, they got off.

"Where do you want to go?" Snape asked Ellie.

Ellie looked about, and spotted a corner shop on the end of the street.

"In there will do," she said, pointing.

Once inside the shop Ellie grabbed a basket. The shop was larger inside that she had anticipated. She went up and down the aisles, throwing food into her basket. She had not been lying to Snape when she told him she wasn't a bad cook – she had done a lot of the cooking with Mrs. Manning so she knew exactly what she should buy. She had already decided to volunteer to make dinner everyday. Snape may be an excellent Potions Master but he couldn't make a decent stew to save his life.

Snape did not have that much Muggle money on him so Ellie paid for everything. When they walked back out onto the street Ellie was wondering if she should dare suggesting getting something to eat in a burger bar across the street (she was starting to feel a bit light-headed), when a very old woman stopped by Snape and peered up at him.

"You look familiar," she said in a croaked voice. Snape looked at the woman with distain.

"You're not Tobias Snape's son are you?" the woman said. Snape gave a heavy sigh.

"Yes," he said.

"Oh I thought so, you are the image of your father," the woman said. Snape glowered at her, but the woman didn't seem to notice.

"You have a funny name don't you? Let me see… Serbius…?"

"Severus."

"Ah yes, Severus!"

Snape looked thoroughly annoyed. Ellie snickered a little, covering her mouth and turning it into a cough.

The woman turned to Ellie.

"And who is this young lady?"

Ellie had a lot of experience dealing with old women, thanks to Mrs. Manning and her committees. Good manners and a polite smile got you everywhere.

"My name is Ellie," she said with a smile.

"What a pretty name, and what a pretty girl!"

"Thank you!"

The woman turned back to Snape.

"Is this lovely girl your daughter Severus?"

Snape looked like he wasn't sure whether to answer the question or not. Ellie felt like hitting Snape over the head. "Say yes, say yes you idiot!" she thought furiously. Didn't Snape realise how odd it would look for someone like him to be out with a young girl like this if she _wasn't_ a relative? The old woman would probably call the police in a second!

Impatient, Ellie answered for him.

"Yes," she said, with a sweet smile.

Snape poked her arm, but she swatted him away while continuing to smile sweetly at the old woman.

"How old are you dear?"

"Actually, today is my thirteenth birthday," Ellie said. The woman clapped her hands together.

"How lovely!" She opened her purse and fished about.

"Here you go dear. Happy Birthday!" she said, handing Ellie a fifty pence piece.

"Thanks!" Ellie said, grinning.

"We have to go now," Snape said suddenly, grabbing hold of Ellie's arm and pulling her away.

"It was lovely meeting you!" Ellie called back.

"And you dear!" the old woman cried.

Snape frogmarched Ellie down the street, looking very cross. He stopped at the corner and pulled her closer to him.

"What were you doing?" he hissed at her.

"Saving you from being arrested, most likely," Ellie said, pulling her arm free.

"What?"

"Have you looked in a mirror lately? A man like you out and about with a young girl like me? If I'd said no, the situation would have looked very pervy," Ellie told him.

"I beg your pardon?" he snarled.

"Trust me; I know what I'm talking about. Now, you hungry? I'm starving!" Ellie said, tired of this conversation, and walked back out onto the street. Snape pulled her back.

"Don't ever tell anyone anything about… about us again," he whispered hoarsely, and then let her go.

Ellie couldn't convince Snape to have a burger, but he did sit down, looking very glum, while she got herself something to eat. While Ellie was eating, she remembered her excuse to get them here in the first place, and though wickedly to herself that it would be a fun way to end the afternoon by getting Snape all hot and bothered again. She waited until they were out in the street again

"I'm just going to go and pop into the pharmacy," Ellie said in a knowing voice, and Snape looked flustered immediately. Ellie walked into the pharmacy, chuckling. She bought some bubble bath and shampoo for the bathroom and left the pharmacy, clutching her bag to her in case Snape got a look at what was really inside. She need not have worried as Snape wanted to stay as far away from that bag as possible.

They got the bus home, this time weighed down with their shopping. When they got back to the house Ellie volunteered to put the shopping away and cook dinner. Snape had no objection. For the first time since she had been there Ellie ate a decent meal. When she got up to her room Amelia's owl was parked on the windowsill. Overall, it wasn't a bad birthday, Ellie thought to herself as she settled down on her bed. Taking up the book Snape had given her she chuckled to herself. Snape had even given her a present!


	32. Snape’s Torture, Ellie’s Sorrow

**Author's Notes: **I wanted Ellie and Snape to bond a little bit. Aww! I think the title is a fairly accurate representation of the chapter.

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Snape's Torture, Ellie's Sorrow**

Two weeks passed and Ellie remained at Snape's house. Amelia sent her a letter telling her that things were going slower than she had been hoping. Ellie took that as a hint that she might still be there in another two weeks.

Living with Snape was a bit of a mixed bag. Ellie enjoyed asking him lots of questions, but it depended on his mood whether he would answer her or just snap at her to keep quiet. She got the feeling that her presence could be highly irritating to him at times.

Only when he was teaching Ellie all he felt she should know about magic did Snape seem in any way pleased to have her around. After her birthday, it was straight back to all day lessons. He put a heavy emphasis on knowledge of the Dark Arts. He gave her books to read in the evening and quizzed her on them the next morning. He had her practicing charms and hexes for hours on end. Everyday it seemed like he was increasing the pace. He wanted her to learn faster, and he kept introducing more complex spells. Having one on one tuition made it easier for Ellie to learn, as Snape was ready with advice on how to perform a spell or produce a charm, or how to improve upon her technique. Ellie had to admit that she had learnt more with Snape over the last two weeks than she had in her two years at Hogwarts. Devin Farley had better hope he never got her angry because she could curse him into next week if she wanted to.

Despite this, Ellie could not help feeling uncomfortable about these lessons. She felt as if Snape was trying to mould her into a particular image. He wanted her to be perfect at everything. He wasn't kidding about wanting her to be top of the year – Ellie had the feeling he wanted her to be top of the school when it came to curses and hexes. He seemed to take a particular pride in making sure she kept up the Prince family tradition of impeccable knowledge of the Dark Arts it seemed.

The problem was, Ellie wasn't sure that she wanted to pumped full of all this information. Was it really appropriate for a thirteen year old to know how to cast the cruciatus curse? Ellie had vowed never to use it, but what if she became very angry, and in an impulsive fit cast it? Ellie felt that Snape was perhaps going a bit overboard. She felt compelled to keep barrelling on though, as it was only during these lessons that Snape seemed to think of her as part of his family. Ellie didn't want to offend him or make him back off. She desperately wanted a family and if Snape was willing to accept her, then it would be foolish to start making a fuss and annoying him.

Still, Ellie began to long for a reprieve. She was therefore disappointed to receive Amelia's letter. There was a month left of the holidays, and at this rate she would be spending all of it with Snape.

That evening after dinner, instead of sending Ellie to her room with a book, Snape requested that she join him in the sitting room. Ellie's heart leapt. Did he finally want to spend some time together just as a family – without wands and incantations? Maybe he would tell her more about his family and show her photos, or maybe he would talk about her mum…

No such luck. Snape wanted to tell her about a new lesson he wanted to start the following evening.

"I want you to learn Occlumency," he told her. She stared blankly at him. She had never heard of it.

"Occlumency," Snape explained, "allows one to close one's mind to external penetration, preventing others from reading's one's mind."

"Why would I need to learn that?"

"Because… it may be important in the future," Snape said.

"Why?" Ellie asked, confused.

"It's…complicated."

"In what way?"

"I can't get into that right now," Snape said in an irritated voice.

"Then why are you even bringing it up?"

"Because it may be the only thing that keeps you safe if…" Snape began to yell, but stopped, breathing heavily. In a moment, he had calmed himself.

"Please Ellie, I need you to do this," he said.

"Okay," she said, hesitantly, but not wanting to let him down. What did he mean about it being the only thing that could keep her safe? Safe from what?

"We will start tomorrow evening after dinner," he told her. She nodded her head.

The first Occlumency lesson was a disaster. It started off well enough, with Snape telling Ellie to clear her mind of emotions. Ellie wasn't sure exactly how to do that but she tried her best. Snape stood opposite her and the next thing she knew random memories started flashing through her mind – one being from her first day of lessons at Hogwarts when she and Jamie had made fun of Snape in front of almost every Gryffindor in the school at the time. She snapped out of and found Snape towering over her, looking absolutely livid, having seen the whole thing. This certainly would not endear Jamie to Snape. He dismissed her from his presence and she hurried up to her room, kicking herself for allowing that particular memory to come into her mind. She resolved to practice what Snape had told her about emptying herself of emotions. It was more difficult than it sounded, but she and Jamie had had too many conversations in which they had made fun of Snape, not to mention called him a prat, a git and countless other names, for Ellie to neglect this piece of advice from Snape.

Ellie soon tired of the Occlumency lessons. Snape became frustrated very easily with her. She wasn't making the progress he wanted.

"We'll have to continue these lessons when we get back to Hogwarts," he told her one evening. Ellie groaned. _More_ lessons! He had already mentioned extra Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons ('the teachers they hire for that subject are all a bunch of dunderheads'), and now this. Why was he so obsessed with teaching her these things?

Ellie had more disappointment coming her way that evening. She was sitting in her room when she heard a tapping noise at her window. She guessed correctly that it was an owl – Jamie's owl to be precise. She took the letter eagerly and tore it open. Her smile faded as she read the first few lines, and her stomach had twisted into knots by the time she had finished it.

_Dear Ellie,_

_I'm not sure how to even start this. I'm so angry my hands are shaking so I hope you can even read this by the time I'm finished. _

_My Mum and Dad have decided they want to stay over here in California and they want me to stay too. _

_My Gran is getting really old now and my Dad wants to stay with her. Mum loves it here. She thinks the weather is much better than in England and my Gran's house is a lot bigger than our house. I don't want to go, but Mum says it's too far to send me to Hogwarts. It's not fair! They won't listen to me. They've already enrolled me in an American school – without even asking me first! What am I going to do Ellie? I don't want to leave Hogwarts. I don't want to leave you. I can't imagine not seeing you everyday. I'd miss you too much…_

Ellie felt sick. Jamie, not coming back to Hogwarts – she couldn't bear to think about it. How would she get through it without him? She was struggling here with Snape – the one joy she had were Jamie's letters and the hopes that she would be seeing him soon and could talk to him in person about it all.

What if she never saw him again? California was very far away. Amelia had talked about visiting Jamie during these holidays but obviously, that wasn't going to happen now. This was awful!

Ellie barely slept that night, and the following day she didn't pay attention for most of Snape's lessons. He quickly discovered this and became angry with her. Ellie didn't take too well to this and stormed off to her room, banging her door behind her. She threw herself on her bed and cried angry tears that swiftly turned into heart-wrenching sobs. She didn't hear Snape hammering on her door and bellowing at her – all she could think about was Jamie and the fact that she might never see him again.

Snape had felt he had made a lot of progress with Ellie while she had been staying with him. She was picking up the spells he was teaching her as well as he could have hoped. The Occlumency lessons had proved to be more of an ordeal than he had wished, but Ellie was young, and they could continue to practise during the school year.

Snape felt it was very important for Ellie to learn Occlumency. At the back of his mind was the fear that someone who wanted to hurt Snape may be able to use Ellie to get to him. This is why he felt it imperative to keep their relationship to each other a secret. Ellie needed to be able to ward off anyone who might suspect the truth and try to tap into her mind for some answers. Although the Dark Lord was gone for now, Snape knew the possibility he may come back, and the implications that held for him, was always looming over his head. Now with Ellie in the picture there were suddenly implications for her too. He didn't feel it was time to discuss this with her yet, but in time…

Her mood that day had been a source of irritation. She hadn't listened to a word he said. Considering the effort he was putting in to help Ellie improve her skills he felt this was very ungrateful and disrespectful towards him. He admitted to himself that he had snapped and lost his temper with her, but her behaviour was atrocious. He thought she was over these childish tantrums. Barricading herself in her room and, from the muffled sounds coming from the other side of the door, wallowing in self-pity had served to anger Snape further. He had no idea what had caused her foul mood that day but it was causing his mood to get blacker and blacker. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore – standing outside her door foolishly, trying to get answers out of her. He opened the door and stomped inside the room.

Ellie was sitting on her bed, her knees folded up against her chest. She glared at Snape when he came in, and screamed at him to get out.

"This is my house," he answered. "Now, what is the matter with you?"

"What do you care?" she spat at him.

"If you're going to cry all over my furniture I at least want to know why!"

Ellie said nothing for a moment, and then wrenched the letter that had been on the bed beside her and threw it at him.

"You want to know? Well there! Read that!" she cried.

Snape caught the letter and skimmed down through it. He scoffed to himself. She was making a fuss because that Logan boy wasn't coming back to the school. Pathetic…

Snape frowned when he came to a particular part of the letter:

_I don't want to leave you. I can't imagine not seeing you everyday. I'd miss you too much…_

What did that loathsome boy mean by that?

Snape's eyes narrowed as he wondered exactly how close Ellie and Jamie had been.

"Well good riddance to you Mr. Logan!" Snape thought happily to himself, his lips curling into a sneer.

Ellie unfortunately had looked up at Snape and saw him smiling.

"Oh you're happy about that are you?" she screeched, feeling highly offended.

"He was only holding you back anyway," Snape told her.

Ellie screamed in frustration, startling Snape, and then turned herself furiously towards the window.

"I hate you!" she screeched, and then buried her head in her knees, and started sobbing again.

Snape looked at her, feeling lost. They were wasting valuable time that could be spent working on more important things. She would have to snap out of this mood.

"Ellie, I demand that you come downstairs," he said in a stern voice.

There was no response, except that Snape thought that she had begun to cry harder.

He walked closer to the bed.

"Ellie, look at me," he ordered. She ignored him.

"Ellie," he tried again, tapping on the shoulder. She reached a hand out and smacked him away.

Snape sighed in frustration. She must have gotten it from her mother – he certainly never behaved like this.

Snape was a tall person, and he felt ridiculous, towering over Ellie as she scrunched herself up into a ball on her bed. Rolling his eyes, he took a seat next to her on the bed.

"Are really this upset over that boy?" he asked in disbelief, shaking his head.

Ellie raised her tear-streaked face for a moment and looked at him.

"It's not fair! Why are his parents taking him away when he doesn't want to go?" she said, sniffling.

Ellie's expectant look made Snape realise she expected him to answer that ridiculous question.

"They're his parents. They can do what they want," Snape told her, as if it was obvious.

"But… he loves…" Ellie began, and paused as she sniffed. Snape's eyes shot open and his body went rigid. _What_? He loves _what_?

"… Hogwarts," Ellie finished. Snape let out a breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding. His body relaxed. Still, thank God that dratted boy was not coming back to Hogwarts!

"You understand don't you?" Ellie asked in a pathetic tone.

Snape shot her a puzzled look. He _did_?

"My granddad made my mum leave Hogwarts," Ellie continued.

Snape scoffed.

"That was different," he said. Then a horrifying thought occurred to him. He stared at Ellie.

"You didn't… you haven't…?"

Ellie looked at him, confused. He looked furious and terrified at the same time. Then it dawned on her.

"No!" she cried, both embarrassed and angry, and promptly buried her head in her lap again.

Snape suddenly felt he could appreciate how Claudia's father must have felt when he discovered that she was pregnant. If Jamie had been standing in front of him a moment ago, he would have found himself on the receiving end of a cruciatus curse – or worse.

"I just meant," Ellie mumbled from her lap, "that you know what it's like when someone you care about is taken away."

"Oh, yes. Yes I do," Snape said, beginning to feel awkward. He did not like where this conversation was headed. He never to discussed his feelings for Claudia with anyone. They were private.

"I'll just miss him so much," Ellie said, and this seemed to set her off sobbing again. Snape felt very uncomfortable and patted Ellie on the back in an awkward attempt to comfort her. This only made things worse however, as Ellie moved her head from her lap and buried it in his shoulder instead. Snape panicked, not sure what to do while the girl sobbed into his robes. Eventually he placed his arm awkwardly around her, patting her back now and then with his other arm.

"Why couldn't she have been a _boy_," he thought wretchedly to himself.


	33. End of the Summer

**Author's Notes: **This one's a short one.

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Three: End of the Summer**

Ellie was mortified for days after receiving Jamie's letter that she had cried on Snape's shoulder- literally. Talk about embarrassing. Snape appeared to take it in his stride, which just made it all the worse for Ellie. One embarrassed look from him might have made it more bearable, but when he stared her down with the usual frosty expression, she felt like crawling under the sofa. No doubt he had laughed heartily at her when he had managed to escape from her that evening. Stupid, _stupid_!

The news that Jamie was not coming back to Hogwarts still had not sunk in. Ellie waited impatiently for another owl to arrive, telling her the move was off and he would be back after all. She waited and waited but no such owl came. Jamie's owl did arrive back but it was with another gloomy letter from Jamie who was still upset over his parents' decision. Ellie wrote back of course, documenting her own misery at their separation, and even confessing the embarrassing incident with Snape. Jamie wrote back with the hopeful idea that Amelia might be able to take her to California to visit after all. Ellie replied with her depressing fear that she may be left at Snape's for the remainder of the holidays.

Eager to avoid Snape's glares, Ellie worked as hard as possible at the work he assigned her. That seemed to keep him satisfied. Even the Occlumency lessons started to get better. Ellie had a good incentive – the first two Occlumency lessons after Jamie's letter had led to her inadvertently allowing Snape to see many private moments with Jamie – like the time he had called her pretty and the time he had held her while she cried. Snape's eyes glowered fiercely after these sessions and Ellie was determined not to let Snape's intrusions into her most precious memories continue.

Another two weeks passed, leaving Ellie only two weeks more before the new term started. Ellie prayed daily for a letter from Amelia, but something better than that happened. One morning Snape was quizzing Ellie on vampires (Ellie had a few well thought out questions to pose to Snape when they were done) when there was a knock on the door. Snape grunted impatiently and moved to answer it. As soon as the door opened, Ellie recognised Amelia's voice greeting Snape and she joyfully rushed past Snape and flung herself on Amelia.

"Hey, glad to see me?" Amelia asked, laughing as she returned Ellie's hug.

"Oh yes!" Ellie told her.

"How was she? Did she behave?" Amelia asked Snape as she extracted herself from Ellie's embrace. Snape looked darkly at her for a moment, causing Amelia to take a step back.

"I suppose so," Snape eventually said.

"Well, I can take her off your hands now. I expect you're glad to hear that," she said to Snape.

"Fine," Snape said curtly.

Ellie rushed upstairs to pack her things, leaving Amelia and Snape alone in the sitting room. Snape gestured to Amelia to take a seat. She sat down on the sofa and he took a seat opposite her in an armchair. He didn't speak, but proceeded to glare icily at Amelia. She began to feel very uncomfortable, and hoped Ellie would hurry up.

Ellie packed her trunk as fast as she could and, satisfied she had everything, grabbed Helga's cage and pulled her trunk out of the room. She pushed the trunk down the stairs in front of her (causing quite a racket in the process) and then followed with Helga.

Snape and Amelia heard the trunk as it crashed down the stairs, and Snape winced. Amelia wondered if Ellie had been this noisy throughout her stay. Snape probably could not wait to get rid of her. No wonder he was glaring at her. He must be angry she had been so long away.

Ellie burst through the door with her things.

"I'm ready!" she announced.

Snape and Amelia both stood up. Amelia took charge of Ellie's trunk, and told her she had a taxi waiting outside.

"Thank you for having her Severus," Amelia said, and offered her hand. Snape gave her another cold glare, but shook her hand. Amelia then wheeled Ellie's trunk outside. It was now Ellie's turn to say goodbye.

Ellie suddenly felt bad that she was leaving. Would it bother Snape at all? He was looking frostier than usual – was that because he was annoyed that she was leaving with Amelia when by all rights she should really be staying with him, or was it just that Snape disliked Amelia and seeing her had put him in a bad mood?

"Thanks for having me," Ellie said. Snape nodded. There was a pause.

"Well, I'll see you at school," she told him. He nodded again.

"Right," Ellie muttered to herself and made for the door with Helga. What a heart-warming way to say goodbye.

"Wait!" he said, and she turned around, hopefully. He pulled a book out from one of the many shelves and handed it to her.

"I expect you to have read every page by the time you return to Hogwarts," he told her.

"Er, thanks," Ellie said, looking doubtfully at the book. Trust Snape to set her work even when she was leaving.

Ellie walked out the door, up the path and got into the waiting taxi. Snape stood at the door, watched as they drove off, and then walked back inside, slamming the door behind him.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked Amelia excitedly.

"Well, I believe you wanted to see a certain house…"

"Really? That's brilliant!"

The last two weeks of Ellie's holidays were fantastic. They went to see the Winterbourne house, and Ellie's eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw the size of it. The grounds were incredible too. Ellie couldn't believe it really all belonged to her. Amelia had shown her which room had been her mum's, and there were plenty of photo albums filled with pictures of her mum and her grandparents. Ellie and Amelia spent two days there, and then Amelia had another surprise for Ellie.

"Do you know what these are?" Amelia asked, holding an envelope up. Ellie took the envelope curiously and opened it – inside were two plane tickets to California.

Ellie jumped on Amelia immediately.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed.

Ellie had never been on a plane before, and although she was used to flying on her broom, she still found the journey very exciting. It was wonderful to see Jamie again. He and his family came to meet Ellie and Amelia at the airport and Jamie had raced to greet Ellie as soon as he had seen her. Ellie loved California. By the time she and Amelia had to leave, she could understand why Jamie's parents wanted him to stay. She began to half-wish she could stay too, as long as it was near Jamie.

When Ellie and Amelia got back to London Ellie had just two days before she had to go back to school. Most of these days were spent in Diagon Alley getting her things prepared for school. Ellie had been neglecting Snape's book, but realising that he would most likely quiz her on it as soon as he could, she frantically crammed at night when she should have been sleeping. When 1 September came and Amelia had waved her off on the Hogwarts Express Ellie spent most of the journey asleep in a compartment with some of her Gryffindor friends. The news that Jamie was not coming back had spread, and a lot of the talk in the compartment was about Jamie, so perhaps it was best for Ellie that she slept through most of it.

During the feast, Ellie's eyes kept wandering over to Snape. If her classmates only knew how she spent most of her summer! Snape's eyes were invariably on her as well. When Ellie left the Great Hall to return to her dormitory Snape, who had been skulking about the Entrance Hall waiting for her, pulled her aside and told her that he wanted to see her the following evening after dinner to begin their extra lessons. Ellie waited until he was gone and then groaned. She had a feeling that with no Jamie and even more Snape – this year would be her most trying yet.


	34. A New Year

**Author's Notes: **Another short one. Although it may not seem like it initially, this chapter is important, as we get to take a look inside Ellie's head and see where she is with her feelings for Snape and their relationship. Next chapter deals with Snape's thoughts on Ellie.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Four: A New Year**

Ellie felt strange to be in the Gryffindor common room on her first night back at Hogwarts, with Jamie not being there. She glanced at the corner they used to sit in and talk about everything – lessons, their problems, elaborate plans to get Devin Farley, Snape…

Her life had changed so much since coming to Hogwarts, but the one person she could always rely on for support, the one person she felt would always be there, was gone. It only fully hit her as she went and took her usual place, and there was no Jamie sitting beside her, and there never would be again. It made her feel strange, empty inside with nothing to look forward to.

This should have been a good year for her. She had found her father and was beginning to forge some sort of relationship with him. With all the extra lessons she had taken with Snape, most of her classes would be a breeze. She had spent two years immersed in the wizarding world and she felt at home here. If Jamie had been with her, everything would have been perfect.

"Ellie, did you have a good summer?"

It was Amy. She came over and sat in Jamie's usual spot. Her expression was sympathetic. Ellie guessed she was trying to cheer her up about Jamie's departure.

"It was okay. What about you?"

"Oh, pretty boring. I just stayed at home with my Mum and Dad. What did you do?"

Ellie pretended to rub her nose and hid a grin behind her hand. If only she knew!

"I spent the first few days in London…"

"London! Oh, you're so lucky! I've _begged_ Mum to take me shopping in London!"

"Yeah, it was pretty nice I suppose."

"What else did you do?"

"I went to California…"

"_What_?"

Amy had shrieked so loudly that Helen appeared in front of them, wondering what was up.

"Ellie went to California!"

"Oh wow Ellie! Did you see Jamie?"

"Er, yeah, I did…"

"That's so cool! We only went to France for a few days."

"Yeah, what a brilliant summer you had Ellie."

"Oh and by the way, I also spent a month with Professor Snape," Ellie thought to herself. She wondered if Amy and Helen would think she had such a great summer if they knew about _that_.

What kind of summer _did_ she have anyway? She had certainly enjoyed herself when she was with Amelia – London, her family's home and California had all been wonderful. What about her time with Snape – how would she describe that?

A month was a long time to spend virtually exclusively in one person's company. In theory, she should have come away with a greater understanding of Snape's character, but as Ellie looked back over their time together, she felt she could not work him out. Why had he consented to her staying with him? Had it been out of a sense of obligation? Had it been because of genuine paternal affection, or had it been because Snape saw it as an opportunity to make her into the kind of child he wanted to have, as opposed to the child he _did_ have.

All his talk about his mother's family and their grand academic traditions – although at first Ellie had felt honoured that Snape wanted to share them with her, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was more Snape would feel ashamed if she didn't meet up to whatever standards Snape felt a "Prince" had to hold to, rather than a father wanting to pass his knowledge on to his daughter. Should it matter to her if the former were the case? After all, Snape had barely known Ellie when Amelia had asked him to take her in – why should it bother her.

"Because he knew you were his daughter for over a year and he's had plenty of time to get to know you if he wanted to, but he didn't – not until he _had_ to," a quiet voice inside her head whispered.

Ellie tried to ignore this. After all – he _had_ taken her in. That meant _something_. If he really wanted nothing to do with her then he would not even allow her to be ranked as a Prince in his mind, let alone allow her to live in his house and devote his time to teaching her. Amelia herself had said that she had expected Snape to tell her to get lost, but he didn't. There must be something there, something Ellie couldn't see yet. Snape was a reserved person - that she _did_ know; perhaps it was unfair to expect some declaration of familial affection just yet.

He was happy with her progress in his lessons. If she continued to work hard, then perhaps Snape may loosen up around her.

Ellie felt a guilty pang as she thought of the book that was packed away in her trunk, still only half read. Well, she had tonight and all day tomorrow before dinner to read it (tomorrow being Sunday). She would show Snape what a good daughter she was.

Ellie walked the familiar path to Snape's dungeon office, the book tucked under her arm. She had spent most of the day in her bedroom finishing it.

She knocked at the door, and entered upon Snape's command.

"Good evening Professor," she said politely.

Snape was sitting at his desk. His eyes met hers with a cold stare.

"Take a seat," he told her. Ellie frowned. She had been hoping for a warmer greeting than that.

"I read the book," Ellie offered.

Snape gazed at the book in Ellie's lap.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Er…"

"Vampires are a fascinating subject," Snape continued, not waiting for Ellie's answer.

Ellie laughed nervously. Why _did_ he find them a fascinating subject? Maybe she should just ask once and for all.

"I brought some more books for you to study in your spare time. For your eyes only, understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good," Snape said with a thin smile.

There was silence for a moment. Ellie wondered if he waiting for her to say something.

"How are you finding Gryffindor Tower without Mr. Logan?" he asked suddenly.

Ellie was surprised by this question. She knew Snape was not fond of Jamie. In fact, his loathing for Jamie had seemed to increase exponentially with every hint that she had cared very much for him. It was about the only thing that really made Ellie feel like Snape had some parental feelings for her – the fact that he was left absolutely seething after every time during an Occlumency lesson when memories of her closeness with Jamie would flash through her mind.

"It's not the same," Ellie admitted. Snape nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I dare say it's not."

Ellie was confused by this. Was he encouraging her to miss Jamie now? Hadn't he tried to convince her that he was holding her back and she was better off without him only a month ago? Why the sudden change of heart?

"Now, vampires. Tell me, how would you recognise one?"

The first week back at Hogwarts without Jamie was a tough adjustment for Ellie to make. Although she got along well with her other classmates, there was no one that she had been especially close to apart from Jamie. It was difficult to try and get more involved with the others too when Snape had set her a mountain of extra work to do on top of the homework she got in her regular classes, not to mention the daily extra classes after dinner. She was asked a few times where she disappeared off to in the evenings. She knew Snape did not want her mentioning the extra lessons to anyone, so she lied and said she had detentions with Snape instead. The sympathetic looks she got from the others made her feel guilty, but she couldn't tell them the truth. It did sting her a bit when some well-meant insults were hurled Snape's way, but considering all the insults she and Jamie had come up between them for him she knew it would look very odd if she spoke up against them, so she bit her lip.

Snape's extra work was starting to feel like a huge burden already, and they were only a week into the term. Ellie shuddered to think about what it would be like in a few months. She struggled on however; glad that at least it enabled her to spend some time with her father. She wished it could be without the books, but maybe in time…


	35. Snape’s Musings

**Author's Notes: **Another short one! Originally, this one and the last one were one chapter, but I think they flow better separately. Just as I felt it was important to get inside Ellie's head for a bit to get a better understanding of how she felt now about Snape and their relationship, I also feel it's equally as important to get inside Snape's head to see exactly how he feels about Ellie, and his thoughts on where she fits into his life.

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Snape's Musings**

When Snape had first learned that Ellie was his daughter he had been disgusted, repulsed by the very idea of being related to this girl. Gradually, he could not help finding himself feeling proud at her obvious talents, and not just in potion making. Sitting around the staffroom, he had heard snippets of conversations that told him that Ellie was making good progress in her work overall. Although he was watching from the sidelines, he was eager to see how far she would go.

Circumstances had forced the truth of their relationship to come out between them, and although he had bitterly lamented it at first, the more he thought about the more he realised that perhaps it was not such a bad thing after all. He could now perhaps play a more active role in steering Ellie onto the path to greatness. She had the potential to become a powerful witch; he could see that more and more.

When Amelia had showed up at his house, begging for his help his first instinct had been to turn her down for several reasons. One, his house, and he himself, was not really equipped to handle a teenage girl; two, it may attract unwanted attention. If Snape suddenly was found to have a young girl living with him by certain people then questions were sure to be asked. The right conclusion could not be too long out of reach of these people if they researched her background. Although his romantic relationship with Claudia had been a secret, it would be common knowledge that they had worked closely together in class. It wouldn't be too much of a grand leap to guess the rest.

A sudden thought had struck him, however. If he _did_ have the girl with him, then he could help her with her studies, but along the way equip her with the magic she may need should the _worst_ ever happen, and should she find herself in danger because of her relation to him. He would have to be careful. She would have to stay indoors as much as possible. It would not do to have her seen wandering around near his house if there _was_ anyone spying on him.

He decided to take her in. A part of him of him taunted him as weak, mocking him for wanting to protect her, for caring. He _did_ care, in spite of himself. He dismissed it, ignored it, attempted to justify it before loathing himself for such a low act, but he _did_ care. She was more like her mother than she knew. Even worse, Snape thought bitterly to himself, was the niggling voice that told him that even if she were nothing like her mother, he wouldn't care any less for her. He was mildly disgusted with himself for these sentiments. He had, for so long, refused to allow himself to care about anyone, and had prided himself on that fact, that to suddenly feel so strongly for someone was a bitter pill to swallow. These feelings however, no matter what they were, could never become widely known. He may as well sign Ellie's death warrant himself if he allowed himself to indulge them. Distance was the key. Ellie may be inspiring powerful feelings within him, but she would never, ever know.

Despite his rational, well thought out reasons to keep an emotional wall between himself and Ellie, there were times when a chink in his armour exposed him to emotions he tried to ignore. When Amelia had come back so suddenly, just arriving on the doorstep with no warning, Snape had felt put out. Here this woman was, actually _thanking_ him for looking after his own _daughter_. This woman, who was not connected to Ellie in _any_ way, was calling the shots. He felt resentful. He felt jealous. He felt _angry_. Amelia had concealed Ellie from him for 12 years, and would have continued to do so if he had not discovered the truth himself, and she had the nerve to waltz into his home and treat him like a glorified babysitter. How he _loathed_ her.

Then there was that Logan boy. What Ellie saw in him he could not even _begin_ to fathom. When he had seen inside Ellie's memories and had seen Jamie with his hands all over her he had felt very close to disapparating to whatever part of America he had been banished to and strangling him. Quite frankly, the further he was away from Ellie the better. Insufferable boy…

His absence had however prompted an interesting thought. Would Gryffindor still hold all its shine in Ellie's eyes now that Jamie was gone, or would it lose its sparkle? Snape's hands positively rubbed with glee as a new idea played out in his head. Ellie was _his_ daughter, and he was the head of Slytherin House. Although before he had been hesitant to explain anything to Dumbledore, whom he was certain guessed, if not flat out knew, the truth about Ellie's parentage, he wondered now if perhaps he explained to Dumbledore that it would be in Ellie's best interests for him to keep a close eye on her, if Dumbledore would consent to Ellie switching from Gryffindor to Slytherin? It was not something that Snape believed had ever been done before, but there was always a first time for everything, and the circumstances in this case were unusual. The one thing that irked him immensely about Ellie was that she was in Gryffindor, the house he detested most of all.

Snape made a note to himself to discuss this with Dumbledore as soon as possible. He would have Ellie in Slytherin yet, just as he had wanted when he had first seen her…


	36. The Calm

**Author's Notes: **This chapter is very important. Fifty points to anyone who sees where this is going.

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Six: The Calm**

"_Psst! Ellie!_"

Ellie thought she felt something poke her, but she couldn't move.

"Miss Winterbourne!" a stern voice called loudly.

That seemed to do it.

"What?" Ellie said confused as her head shot up from were it had been resting on her hands.

Professor McGonagall was bearing down on her. She didn't look happy. In fact, she looked furious. Ellie gulped.

"Enjoy your nap, Miss Winterbourne?" she asked. Several sniggers broke out around the class.

"Er…" Ellie said stupidly before realising that it would be a better idea to apologise rather than actually answer that question. She had a feeling if she told Professor McGonagall, "Oh yes! It was just what I needed!" she would find herself with a one-way ticket back to Amelia in London.

"Sorry Professor," Ellie mumbled, feeling like a total idiot. Falling asleep in class was definitely not a good move.

"See me after class," Professor McGonagall told her.

Ellie groaned and felt like kicking herself. She had been up most of the night trying to finish off homework because Snape had kept her so long in his office. She had been back at school for two months and every night had involved lessons with Snape. These lessons had been getting longer and longer. She was lucky to be back in her dormitory by midnight. As a result, she was starting to fall behind on her other class work. About the only time she had available to do her homework was when she should be sleeping. It was not just last night that she had not gotten much sleep – she could count the number of hours sleep she had gotten so far this week on one hand.

Maybe it was time to have a word with Snape about the amount of extra work he expected her to do. He was starting to smother her. She needed some time to herself – if only to catch up on her sleep.

The bell sounded for lunch, and the class began to file out. Ellie got a few sympathetic looks as she remained in her seat, but quite a few others tried to suppress giggles as they walked past her. Ellie stared straight ahead, ignoring them. When the classroom was empty, Professor McGonagall shut the door and came and stood in front of her desk, her hands clasped in front of her.

"So, Miss Winterbourne – tell me why you fell asleep in my class?"

"Er, well…"

Ellie knew she couldn't tell Professor McGonagall about Snape's lessons without his permission first. She didn't feel it would be appropriate to tell Professor McGonagall the lie she had been using with her friends about nightly detentions with Snape either though. For one thing, Professor McGonagall was the head of her house – she may be angry with her for having so many detentions.

Ellie was stuck. Professor McGonagall was staring intently at her, expecting her to give her an explanation but she had no reasonable answer to give.

"I just… I didn't get much sleep last night," Ellie muttered, knowing this was a very feeble response. Professor McGonagall obviously thought so too.

"Oh really, and why is that?"

"I… I don't really know."

"Are you ill?"

"No."

Professor McGonagall clicked her tongue.

"Detention this evening Miss Winterbourne. Come to my office after dinner."

Ellie groaned. Snape would murder her.

"Professor McGonagall, I'm really sorry…" Ellie protested, but Professor McGonagall didn't want to hear it.

"My office this evening Miss Winterbourne. Now, go on – off to lunch."

Perfect, just perfect, Ellie thought to herself. Now she would have to find Snape to tell him she couldn't come this evening for her lesson. She didn't have a class with him today so that meant hanging around the Entrance Hall hoping she could catch him after lunch.

Ellie sat glumly at the table, picking at her lunch. She didn't feel very hungry. She happened to glance up at the staff table and she saw Snape glaring at her for a moment. Professor McGonagall was sitting behind him. They were talking.

Ellie's head sunk onto the table and she groaned. They must be talking about her. Professor McGonagall had probably mentioned she had fallen asleep in class, and possibly her detention also.

"Ellie, you okay?" a voice asked. It sounded like Amy's.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just fine," Ellie mumbled, lifting her head.

On the bright side, at least she wouldn't have to explain to Snape about the detention herself. This thought wasn't much of a comfort to her, but at least it was something.

As Ellie made her way wearily out of the Great Hall, Snape's cold tone could be heard above the crowd of students, calling her.

"Miss Winterbourne, a word."

Ellie shut her eyes for a moment, praying for some miracle to cause her to suddenly be transported a hundred miles away. She opened her eyes, and saw a pillar of black in front of her. Her heart leapt for a moment, but when she looked up, she realised that she had no such luck. It was just Snape, who had planted himself right in front of her. He took a hold of her arm, and pulled her down a small corridor that opened off the Entrance Hall.

Snape stared down at her, and frowned.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"You look a bit peaky," he said.

Well it was no bloody surprise she looked a bit peaky considering all the work he was piling on her! Ellie held her tongue however, not wanting to rock the boat with Snape. Snape meanwhile didn't seem to require an answer to his question, as, after giving her one searching look, he moved on.

"Professor McGonagall told me you fell asleep in her class," he said. Ellie could tell he was annoyed with her.

"Yeah," she mumbled, her cheeks beginning to turn pink as Snape glared at her.

"That was a very foolish thing to do."

"Well I didn't plan it!" Ellie snapped, suddenly feeling rather annoyed herself, but then stopped, shocked with herself. Snape's eyes narrowed. Ellie made a mental note to bash her head against a wall later.

"You will have to make up for the work you shall miss tonight," he told her, and then swept away suddenly without another word.

Ellie moaned desperately. Make up for it! When? There weren't enough hours in the day as it is!

Professor McGonagall's detention that evening was worse than Ellie had imagined. When she had walked into Professor McGonagall's office, Filch was there too, an evil gleam in his eye. Ellie was put into his charge for the evening. He made her polish every suit of armour in the castle. Mrs. Norris kept by her side, meowing loudly if she stopped to so much as wipe her brow, which brought Filch to her side in a flash. It had been a nightmare. It was well after midnight before she got back to Gryffindor Tower, and she still had a pile of homework to do.

Ellie sank down at the table and, out of pure frustration, began to cry bitterly. She felt like screaming. She had been back at Hogwarts for only two months and she was struggling to get by – a struggle she was beginning to lose if Professor McGonagall's class was anything to go by.

She would have to tell Snape that it was just not physically possible for her to continue like this. They would _have_ to cut back on the lessons. She had a feeling he would be angry – but at this rate, she would collapse from sheer exhaustion by the end of the week.

Again, Ellie did not have a class with Snape the following day, so she waited until that evening, when she was due to meet him anyway, to talk to him. When she got to his office and went inside, she told him immediately that she needed to talk to him. He looked surprised at this request, but he sat back in his seat, willing to listen.

"Look, don't get me wrong, I appreciate all you're doing for me – but this can't go on," Ellie told him. He frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"This! Us! All this work!" Ellie said desperately, gesturing between herself and Snape. He frowned again, and then rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. Ellie exhaled sharply, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"I'm not being ridiculous! I…"

Snape interrupted her, not listening.

"I have something I want to discuss with you."

Ellie sank back in her chair, shaking her head, her eyes wide with disbelief. He wasn't even listening to her!

"I think it would be best if you were to transfer into Slytherin House."

Ellie blanched in horror.

"You are joking!" she cried.

"Of course not," he snarled at her, annoyed by her reaction.

"But… I'm in Gryffindor!" Ellie exclaimed.

"At the moment, but if I had a word with Dumbledore…"

"No!" Ellie shouted, not wanting to hear anymore. She jumped out of her seat, panting heavily.

"Ellie, Slytherin is where you belong. Gryffindor is…"

"Is where the Sorting Hat put me! Don't you think it would have put me in Slytherin if I belonged there!" Ellie shrieked.

Her heart faltered for a moment, recalling that the Sorting Hat _had _considered putting her in Slytherin at first, but her gaze remained steady. She wasn't about to divulge this information to Snape. The important thing was the Hat _had_ put her in Gryffindor – eventually.

Snape seemed to know what she was thinking however.

"Yes, you were sorted into Gryffindor… _eventually_. How long did it take? One minute? Two?"

Ellie glared at Snape angrily. Had he just used Legilimency on her?

"Even if I _wanted_ to move into Slytherin, that kind of thing isn't allowed. Dumbledore would never agree to it!"

"If you expressed to Dumbledore your agreement then…"

"Wait a minute – have you already talked to Dumbledore about this?"

Ellie's face was red with shouting, and her eyes were blazing. Snape turned away from her for a moment, confirming his guilt in Ellie's eyes.

"I don't believe this!"

"It's in your best interests to…"

"I don't want to hear this!"

Ellie turned around immediately and stormed out of the room. She ran down the corridor, up the steps, and didn't stop until she was outside Gryffindor Tower, completely out of breath. She had to sink down against the wall for a while before she could try to gasp out the password.

Once inside, she went straight to her room and flung herself onto her bed.

Arguing with Snape had been the last thing she had planned – but wanting her to move into Slytherin! How could he have _possibly_ thought she would go along with that? Why did he even want her in Slytherin anyway? It's not as if he had anything to be ashamed of by her being in Gryffindor – he didn't want anyone to even _know_ she was his daughter!

Ellie hoped Snape would sit down, think about it and realise what a crazy idea it was for him to even consider it being feasible for her to move. Gryffindor is where she had been sorted, and in Gryffindor she was going to stay. She wouldn't move into Slytherin if she were paid to.

Ellie had Double Potions the following day. She kept her eyes low when Snape walked into the classroom, avoiding all eye contact with him. He stared in her direction a few times, but each time she ducked her head. She worked quietly, not joining in on the general chatter around her, lest Snape see it as an excuse to pounce on her.

When Snape walked around the class to inspect their work, he stopped in front of Ellie and tried to talk to her.

"This seems adequate."

"Thank you sir," Ellie replied, her eyes on her cauldron.

"Have you thought any further about my request?"

"I gave you my final word on the subject yesterday."

Snape let out an exasperated sigh.

"I expect to see you in my office this evening."

"Fine," Ellie muttered.

"_Fine_…" Snape said. Ellie knew what that meant. Snape was hinting that she should say "Fine sir," to him. Well, she was feeling rather sick of him, so she decided to annoy him, even though she knew there was a good chance she would regret it later.

"Fine…" Ellie began, and then lowered her voice until it was barely a whisper. "…Daddy," she finished, smirking at him. His chest swelled up so much he looked like he would burst. He hastily looked around, checking to see if anyone had heard, and then turned back to Ellie. His eyes were like slits, and he was breathing so heavily Ellie half-expected smoke to come out of his nose. He gripped her desk and leaned in to her until his face was almost touching hers.

"Never, _ever_, call me that again in public. _Ever_," he hissed. Ellie grunted in reply. He moved off, and Ellie smiled wickedly to herself. She would pay for it later, but it had been worth it.

Ellie's boldness had worn off by that evening. It had felt great to make Snape huff and puff at the time, but now she dreaded the punishment he might come up with – just when she wanted to get him on her side about the lessons too. As much as she hated it, she would have to apologise to him.

When Ellie walked into Snape's office, he gestured to a chair without saying a word. He waited until she was seated before speaking.

"What was that all about this afternoon?" Snape demanded.

"I'm sorry. I was just being stupid."

"Stupid? How would you have explained it if anyone had overheard?" Snape snapped.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise."

Snape seemed to accept this, and nodded.

"Now, about Slytherin…"

Ellie let out a disbelieving laugh when Snape mentioned Slytherin.

"You're not still on that? I've told you – I'm not moving!"

"If you would just consider…"

"No! If you would just consider that I have absolutely no intention of changing into Slytherin then that would be brilliant. Could you really see that working? You've seen me interacting with them, you know I don't like them and they don't like me!"

"If you are referring to Devin Farley…"

"I'm referring to the lot of them. Okay, there are three or four I've never talked to, but I know enough about the rest to know they're the biggest bunch of prats I've ever met!"

"Ellie," Snape began, sternly.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way Professor Snape, but Slytherin just isn't for me. I don't fit in and I never would. No offence, but I'd rather take a walk off the astronomy tower, and I think that would be better for my health than joining Slytherin."

Snape began to pace up and down behind his desk, frowning. Ellie watched him, silent, waiting for him to speak. After a minute, he came to a stop.

"Perhaps at the end of the school year we can discuss this again."

Ellie shook her head, wanting to laugh again, but she wanted to put the subject to rest.

"Fine. There's something else we need to talk about anyway."

"Oh?"

"These lessons," she stated.

"Ellie, one day you will thank me for the time I have devoted to your training."

Ellie winced, and took a few breaths. Snape had misunderstood her.

"I appreciate it now, I really do, but it's just…"

She sighed as she thought of the best way to explain her feelings.

"Look," she said at last," you said before that you wanted me to do well – that you thought I should be coming top of the year. Well at this rate, I'll be lucky to even pass half my subjects. I never have time to finish my homework unless I stay up all night – and that makes me too tired in class to pay attention. I just can't keep up with this pace. We need to cut back on the lessons. I'm not saying stop them completely, just cut them back."

Snape took a moment to consider what Ellie had said.

"I suppose," he said eventually, "that we could make it five nights a week inside of seven."

Ellie shook her head.

"I was thinking more along the lines of three."

"Three?" Snape uttered indignantly.

"Yes, three! Monday, Wednesday, Friday. That means there's a day in between for me to do whatever work you want for the next class, and I get the weekends to keep up to date with my schoolwork. You do want me to _pass _the year, don't you?"

"Fine," Snape sighed.

"Great!" Ellie said, and smiled at Snape. She thought she detected a hint of a smile from him in return but he turned away before she could be sure. Unknown to her, Snape had just been struck how much more she resembled her mother everyday, and it had filled him with a rather bittersweet feeling.

There was a silence between them, but it felt comfortable now that they had put aside the tension from the last 24 hours. Ellie felt bold enough to venture a question.

"Does it offend you?"

"Mmm?"

"When I call you 'Dad'?"

This time Ellie was sure she had seen a smile. Snape seemed amused by this question.

"Do you intend it to offend me?" he asked after a moment's pause.

Ellie chuckled.

"I suppose I do," she admitted.

"Why do you ask anyway?"

"I'm just curious," she told him. He nodded at this and his face began to adopt a more serious expression.

"Hey don't worry, I'm not about to make it a permanent part of my vocabulary or anything," she told him.

"It's too much fun to throw out when I feel like annoying you to overdo it," she added after a moment with a cheeky grin.

Snape shot her a disapproving look, but Ellie could tell from the way his eyes twinkled that he wasn't really angry.

"I do think that would be best. Also in future, if you want to annoy me I must insist you do it when we are alone."

Ellie nodded, understanding. He didn't want her uttering the "D" word in front of anyone else.

"I won't do anything idiotic again. I promise," she told him.

"Good. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"No, that's it."

"Fine then. We shall resume our lessons on Monday evening."

"Okay," Ellie said getting up, sorry their conversation was coming to an end just when they seemed so comfortable with each other. Still, it was good progress.

When she reached the door, she turned around, a sudden urge striking her. They were _alone_ after all.

"Bye… _Dad_."

She shot him a cheeky grin and was out the door a moment later, chuckling to herself.


	37. Before

**Author's Notes: **We're approaching the home stretch now. 150 points to the person who can guess the next chapter title…

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Before**

"Post's here!"

It was a gloomy Friday morning in December – just two weeks before the Christmas holidays started. Ellie was sitting in the Great Hall eating a bowl of lumpy porridge. Her owl, Helga, swooped down beside her and dropped a letter in her lap. She stuck her beak in Ellie's bowl while Ellie tore open the letter. As she was hoping, it was a letter from Amelia about her Christmas plans. Ellie's eyes nearly fell out of her head when she read what Amelia had planned.

_I thought it might be nice to go back to California over Christmas. You could see Jamie and I could see some friends…_

Ellie could not believe her luck. She would be able to see Jamie again in two weeks! Good old Amelia!

That evening, Ellie had a lesson with Snape. Their lessons had been going better for Ellie since Snape had agreed to cut back on the workload. In fact, Ellie had been pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of what Snape had taught her was being covered in her lessons – and she was sailing ahead of her classmates. Pangs of guilt plagued her whenever she bumped into Jessica Healy – a Ravenclaw student who usually came top everything, apart from Potions. Ellie wondered if it was really fair that the only reason she was doing so exceptionally well in class was that Snape was giving her individual tuition. She had broached the subject with Snape, but he dismissed it as nonsense and said Ellie would inspire Jessica to work harder and that really she was doing her a favour. Ellie didn't feel entirely comfortable with this answer, but she didn't want to get into Snape's bad books again so she would have to live with some guilty feelings where Jessica was concerned.

After practising some incantations, Snape asked, in a casual manner, what her plans for the Christmas break were.

"I believe you stayed at the school last year."

"Yeah. Mrs. Manning was in hospital so I had nowhere else to go."

"I see."

"I'm going to California with Amelia this year!"

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's going to be brilliant to see Jamie again!"

"Indeed."

Ellie caught Snape frowning. A sudden idea occurred to her.

"That's not a problem is it?"

"What? Oh, no, of course not," Snape said in an irritated voice.

Ellie heard him mutter under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "didn't even _consult_ me…"

"You will have to make up the work you miss," Snape added, louder.

Ellie lowered her head in confusion. Should she write back and tell Amelia she couldn't come? She wanted to see Jamie so much though! She would only be gone for two weeks – that was six lessons. Surely Snape would not begrudge her that? He of all people knew how much Jamie meant to her. Of course, Ellie thought with a chuckle, that was one of the things Snape seemed to hate about Jamie!

Amelia was going to meet Ellie at the train station and then they were going straight to the airport. Ellie didn't get a wink of sleep the night before she left. She could believe her luck in getting to see Jamie so soon after the last time. She thought she would have to wait until at least the following summer.

Ellie called by Snape's office to say goodbye the next morning. It was not the embarrassing affair that her goodbye had been last summer, it was more like the awkward goodbye when she had left Snape's house after spending a month with him. She waited for some sign of affection from her father while he stared coldly at her. As before, he offered her a book before she left, which she promised to read before she got back. She left the office, disappointed. Still, perhaps it was too much to expect Snape to fit into a fatherly role. He seemed much more comfortable around her when he was playing the part of her professor. It just seemed to be his way. Even her mother had admitted in her diary that he was reserved. Ellie privately thought it was a wonder she had even been born! She still was not brave enough to read _certain_ parts of the diary however, so she assumed that Snape could show _some_ affection when he needed to. Maybe he just needed more time.

Ellie was delighted to see Jamie again. She flung her arms around his neck and he squeezed her tight. They chatted excitedly about Jamie's new school and about Hogwarts. Ellie waited until they were alone before she would talk about Snape.

"Go on then. From your letters it sounds like you're getting on all right," Jamie said.

"Yeah, he's not too bad. He's obsessed with making the best witch in the year, but he calmed down a bit when I asked him."

"Calling him 'Dad' yet?" Jamie asked, grinning.

"Only when I want to annoy him," Ellie replied with a wry smile.

"So, all the time then, yeah?" Jamie said, and they both laughed.

"He's quite paranoid about it actually. Remember that time in class I wrote to you about?"

"Oh yeah! I would have given anything to have seen his face!" They laughed again.

"I'd give anything to be back at Hogwarts you know," Jamie said, suddenly looking serious.

"You'd give anything for a lot of things," Ellie joked. It took Jamie a few seconds to work this out and when he did, he playfully punched her arm.

"You know what I mean!" he said, grinning.

"I thought you said you liked your new school?"

"It's not the same," Jamie admitted. Ellie nodded her head. Jamie hesitated before adding, "It's not the same without you." His face was red when he had finished. Ellie's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. They remained silent for a moment.

"It's not the same at Hogwarts without you," Ellie admitted, keeping her eyes on the ground. Jamie smiled broadly, his face getting redder by the second. Ellie shot him a sideway glance and gave him a shy smile. Jamie moved his hand next to hers and, hesitantly, their fingers intertwined. Ellie shot another glance at Jamie, and he appeared to be moving closer to her. Her heart began to pound against her chest, but Amelia and Jamie's mum interrupted the moment. Their hands flew apart immediately and they both blushed a deep red. Amelia and Mrs. Logan realised they had interrupted something, and blushed themselves. Mrs. Logan seemed flustered all of a sudden.

"Um… dinner's ready," she said in a high-pitched, shaky voice, quite unlike her own.

When Ellie and Amelia had gotten back to the house Amelia was renting during their stay she brought up Jamie.

"He's a nice boy," she said.

"Um, yeah," Ellie stammered, wondering where Amelia was going with this.

"You must miss him a lot when you're at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I do," Ellie said with another blush.

"Do you like this house?" Amelia said, suddenly changing the subject.

"Yeah," Ellie said, both relieved and disappointed that they weren't talking about Jamie anymore.

"It's really nice," Ellie added sincerely. She did like the house, and not just because Jamie's house happened to be a short drive away. The beach was only a fifteen-minute walk away, and even in the middle of winter this seemed wonderful to Ellie, who had lived in the middle of a town miles away from the sea for most her life.

"I'm glad you think so," Amelia replied, smiling.

"Besides, we're only here for another week, so even if I hated the house it wouldn't matter!" Ellie joked.

"Oh… yes," Amelia said, in an odd sort of voice, causing Ellie to give her a questioning look. Amelia ignored this and quickly turned the subject to Christmas, which was only a few days away. Jamie's parents had invited them to spend it with them, and Amelia had gladly accepted, knowing Ellie would have killed her if she had said no.

Ellie had a wonderful Christmas with Amelia and Jamie's family. Her thoughts did drift to Snape, and she felt guilty to think that she was spending the first Christmas since she had found out he was her father away from him. On the other hand though, he had not seemed too bothered about her going, apart from it interrupting his lesson plan. She had more guilty thoughts about the book he had given her. It was lying, still unopened, under her bed. She would have to look at it tomorrow.

Ellie and Jamie got to spend some more time alone together before Ellie left to go back to London for the last few days of the Christmas break. He came over to the house she where she was staying. Amelia had to go out, but since Ellie and Jamie were now thirteen, she thought it was okay to leave them at home.

They sat out on the porch at the back of the house. The weather was mild – a stark contrast to the blizzard Ellie had left at Hogwarts.

"I wish you could stay here," Jamie admitted, looking out over the back garden.

"Me too," Ellie said absent-mindedly.

"Really?" Jamie said, turning to Ellie.

Ellie realised what she had just said. As she thought about it, she couldn't say that she didn't mean it. She did wish she could stay with Jamie. She looked back at him, a thin smile on her face.

"Yeah," she replied. Jamie broke out into a warm smile, which Ellie returned. He began to move closer to her, just as he had at his house a few days before. As before, Ellie's heart began to pound furiously. She closed her eyes and waited expectantly.

"I'm back!" Amelia's voice could be heard from inside the house. Ellie and Jamie flew apart as Amelia walked out on to the porch. She stopped when she saw the red faces, which were staring intently at the grass.

"Oh! Sorry!" she said, and then glided back into the kitchen, kicking herself for not coming home five minutes later.

Saying goodbye to Jamie this time around seemed harder. Ellie fought back tears when she extracted herself from Jamie's bear-like hug.

"I'll write to you as soon as I get back," she promised. Jamie nodded, his eyes looking a bit damp.

"Well," Amelia said a few days later as they stood on platform nine and three quarters. "I hope you enjoyed your holiday!"

"I did. I loved it! Thank you!" Ellie said, hugging Amelia.

Amelia smiled at her.

"I'll write soon okay. I might come and see you too."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Be good!"

Ellie hung out the window, waving furiously to Amelia as the train pulled out of the station, then she sat back, thinking over the last few weeks. She wished she didn't have to wait another six months to see Jamie again. That seemed like forever.

When Ellie got back, she went to see Snape. He asked tersely how Jamie was, and then wanted to know if she had read the book. Ellie assured him she had, although she neglected to mention that she read most of it on the flight back to London, and she couldn't remember half of it.

Ellie enquired about Snape's Christmas. She had been wondering about whether she should give him a present, but had decided against it, at the time feeling that Snape may not appreciate a gesture like that. Now she found herself wishing she had. Snape had spent Christmas at Hogwarts, and from what Ellie could gather it didn't sound like he enjoyed himself at all. Feeling guilty, she began to wonder would he have had a better time had she stayed.

Amelia had not been lying when she said she would come and see Ellie at school. Ellie had only been back at Hogwarts one month when Amelia sent her an owl, telling her she would be at the school the next day. She mentioned she had something she needed to talk to Ellie about, which made Ellie very curious.

Amelia did arrive the next day, and Professor McGonagall kindly loaned them her office so they could talk.

"I have something important to tell you Ellie," Amelia began.

"What?"

"Um… I'm not sure how to tell you this… You remember my job – the way it's a bit unpredictable?"

Ellie nodded.

"Well, I've been offered a more stable job, something I think I would enjoy. It would mean I'd have steady work – no going back and forth all over the place. I'll be able to settle down."

"That's brilliant!" Ellie exclaimed.

Amelia gave her a weak smile.

"There's more. The job… the job is with those friends I went to visit over Christmas – you remember them?"

Ellie frowned.

"Yeah…" she said slowly.

"So anyway, it means I'm going to move out to California… permanently," Amelia admitted.

Ellie's face fell, and she began to feel sick. Amelia moving! What did that mean for her?

"Ellie, I want you to know, you're welcome to come with me, if you want to. I'd love to have you with me. I've talked to Jamie's parents about his school and it sounds wonderful. If you want to stay though, I'll understand."

"But, how can I stay if you leave? Who would I…?" Ellie began, and then it hit her.

"With Snape?" she asked.

Amelia nodded.

"I talked to him yesterday down in Hogsmeade. He says there would be some rules you would have to agree to, but he would be willing to let you stay with him over the summer. So really, it's your choice Ellie. Where do you want to live?"

Ellie's hands shook nervously. Where _did_ she want to live?


	38. The Storm

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that most of you seem to be enjoying the story… at the moment anyway.

150 points to **Zigflorian**, who correctly guessed this chapter title!

This chapter's a long one. Hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Storm**

Where _did_ she want to live? The question plagued Ellie as she sat in Professor Flitwick's Charms class, not hearing a word he was saying. It had been two days since Amelia had been to the school. She told Ellie to think about what she wanted, and that she had to the end of term to decide anyway.

Ellie felt completely torn. She loved being with Amelia, and going with Amelia meant being close to Jamie. When she had been there last, she had not wanted to leave – didn't that mean something? But then there was her father.

All her life she had wondered about her father, wanted to meet him, to get to know him, and now here he was. This was her chance to know her father, and it would be crazy to throw that chance away. She may never get to spend time with Snape again the way she had been for the last few months.

The question continued to distract her, right up until she arrived at Snape's office for her extra lessons. As Snape stood before her, reciting some information that she should probably be taking in but didn't, she felt pangs of guilt for even considering Amelia's proposal. She began to wonder about Snape's proposal. He had told Amelia that as long as she agreed to some rules then he would let her live with him – what were the rules? Ellie began to hope Snape would bring the subject up so they could talk about it.

Snape noticed Ellie's distracted state, and correctly deduced that Amelia's news was the cause. With a roll of his eyes he leaned over his desk and said Ellie's name loudly – snapping her out of her musings.

"Ellie."

She jumped.

"Oh!" she said, and looking at Snape staring at her she added a muttered apology.

"Sorry."

"I suppose Amelia has spoken to you then?" he asked. There was a vague hint of something in his voice that Ellie could not put her finger on, but it sounded like disgust.

"Er… yeah," Ellie admitted.

There was silence, as each waited for the other to continue. Eventually Snape let out an irritated sigh.

"Well?" he said.

"Um…"

Snape shook his head with annoyance, and stood up straight behind is desk. He began to pace about the room. Ellie's eyes followed his steps.

"What's your decision?" Snape asked, coming to a sudden stop almost on top of her. She backed away in her chair instinctively as he leaned over her.

"What did you mean by 'rules'?" Ellie asked.

He stared at her for one second longer than she was comfortable with, and then began to pace about again.

"Well, you were there this summer – you might have an idea," he said.

"Not really," Ellie replied.

"You must remain indoors at all times," Snape stated. Ellie stood up.

"_All_ the time? Why?"

"It's… it's not a good area," Snape said.

Ellie gave an exasperated laugh at this.

"It seemed fine enough when you took me out!"

"That was a… special circumstance," he hissed. Ellie could not help smiling to herself as she remembered the excuse she had used to get out of the house.

"Before you got there… I would expect you to have everything you would need for the length of the holiday, except food of course. I'll take care of that."

Ellie thought she could detect a very faint pink hue on his cheeks, but it was so faint she didn't know if it was simply the candlelight reflecting off his skin.

"I still don't get what the big deal is – not if you were with me like last time," Ellie muttered.

Snape swept over to her and leaned over her again. Although this time they were both standing, he was still considerably taller than she was, and he towered over her.

"And what happened last time? You couldn't keep your mouth shut!" he snapped.

"Yeah, to save you from looking like a sleazy perve!" she retorted. Snape's eyes flashed angrily as she spoke.

"I hardly think…" Snape began, but Ellie cut in.

"You've got that right!" she said with a snort.

She regretted it the instant she said it. Snape's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared furiously at her.

"Look," she began, trying to smooth things over. "Maybe in the wizarding world it's okay for a man dressed all in black with greas… with er, long hair to go skulking about with a teenage girl, but in the Muggle world it raises a few eyebrows. We got a few stares as it was! I was trying to stop that old woman from gossiping that she had seen Severus Snape hanging about the high street with a thirteen-year-old girl to the local policeman. Trust me; old women _live_ to gossip."

"Oh yes, thanks to you she's now gossiping that she saw me with my thirteen-year-old _daughter_. That is so much better! Snape said sarcastically.

There he was again, acting as if he was ashamed that someone knew she was his daughter. What was that all about?

"Is it _such_ a problem that some random old woman who'll you'll probably never see again knows that I'm your kid?" Ellie asked, her hands on her hips.

Snape took a moment before answering.

"I've already told you that this situation is… well _private_."

"Who cares? Seriously – I think the only person who would get worked up about it is you!" Ellie said, frustrated.

"You have no _idea_," Snape muttered. Ellie heard him, and shot him a confused look.

"Then _tell_ me!"

Snape let out an angry sigh.

"Not _now_," he snarled.

"Well when then? What is your problem with telling people about me? Are you ashamed of me? Is that it?" Ellie said as angry tears sprang to her eyes.

"Do we have to do this now?" Snape snapped angrily.

"What's wrong with now?"

"We are in the middle of lesson!"

"Yeah well, not any more," Ellie said in a choked voice, and ran out of the office. Snape growled angrily after her, but let her go without following. He slammed the door in frustration.

A few minutes later and Ellie was pacing the floor in her room, mulling over her latest fight with Snape. She didn't know what it was – a conversation would start off fairly reasonably but within minutes, they would be tearing into each other. And she was actually going to be _living_ with him? They'd fight like cats and dogs all the time probably, except she'd have nowhere to storm off to except for that stuffy old room where there was barely enough room to swing a cat.

About the only time they did not argue was when they were working, but Ellie couldn't keep that up for a solid six or seven weeks – it would be a nightmare. No, if Snape wanted her to live with him then they would really have to work out some better ground rules. What would be the big deal if she caught the bus to the high street every once in a while to get a break? She would be fourteen in July; it wasn't as if she was a little kid. Plus, she had a _wand_ for goodness sakes – with the amount of curses and hexes she knew, courtesy of Snape himself – anyone who tried to hassle her would find themselves in a sorry state. True she wasn't actually supposed to use magic during the summer, but surely in the case of self-defence, since Snape seemed to think she would be attacked, there would be _some_ leeway. The Ministry of Magic hardly expected you to just stand there and be beaten up, or whatever _else_ Snape was worried about.

The following day was Tuesday, and Ellie had neither a Potions lesson nor an evening lesson with Snape. When she woke up that morning, she felt bad about their fight – not for what she had actually said, but for running out on him. The truth was it hurt when Snape seemed to act so bothered by the fact that she was his daughter – as if it was some filthy little secret that he had to keep hidden at all costs. She wanted Snape to accept her – to _love_ her. Okay, the idea of Snape loving anyone even made _her_ snort a bit, but she was his _child_, he must feel _something_ for her?

Ellie bumped into Snape in the corridors that afternoon after her last class.

"Oh! Good afternoon Professor," she stammered, feeling awkward as completely oblivious students surrounded them, not one of them suspecting anything strange about the conversation between the third year Gryffindor student and the Potions Master.

"El… Miss _Winterbourne_," Snape replied. Ellie almost laughed, as Snape looked briefly flustered when he began to call her by the 'wrong' name. He recovered quickly, and only someone looking closely would have noticed.

"Er… about the thing we discussed yesterday… I should have stayed to listen to what you had to say," Ellie muttered, rubbing one arm absent-mindedly.

"Yes… well perhaps you could call by my office this evening and we could discuss the matter further," Snape said.

"Okay," Ellie told him. He nodded, and then moved off.

Ellie watched him go, marvelling at the fact that the enigmatic Professor Snape, whose robes were now billowing about him for dramatic effect as he walked swiftly, was really her father. It had been almost a year, but she still had to shake her head in amazement at it sometimes.

While Ellie ate her dinner, she thought out some points that she could make to Snape in a reasonable manner. It would not do to storm off again. By the time she was knocking on his door she felt confident that she and Snape could have a reasonable discussion about what would happen if Ellie did go to live with him.

"Professor Snape," she greeted him in an official type of voice –as if this was a business meeting. Snape raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then returned her greeting.

"Miss Winterbourne," he said, copying her tone. Ellie scowled involuntarily. He was making fun of her! A thin, mocking smile confirmed this. Ellie closed her eyes and took a breath, willing herself to keep her temper under wraps.

"Ahem. I think we have a few things to discuss," she continued, taking a seat.

Snape's eyebrow shot up again, and his smile returned.

"Indeed," he replied, taking his own seat.

"Would you like to go first?" he added, putting the tips of his fingers together and giving her a quizzing look.

Ellie resisted the sudden impulse to stick out her tongue at him. One of the things she wanted to push was that she was mature enough to go out by herself. She could not let him provoke her into childish behaviour – which she half-suspected he was trying to do to carry his point.

"First of all, if I come to live with you, I don't think it's unreasonable for me to go out and get some fresh air now and then. It's not healthy to stay cooped up under the one roof for so long."

Snape rolled his eyes and dropped his hands on to the desk.

"I'll decide what's reasonable and what is not," he told her.

Ellie scowled again.

"Why?"

"Why?" Snape repeated, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Ellie ignored this.

"Yep, why. Explain it to me," she said.

"Why should I?" Snape countered.

He caught Ellie by surprise, and she had to take a moment to think of a response. She felt her cheeks begin to burn as he smirked at her.

"Because… because I'll be fourteen, I'm not a kid anymore. I have a right to know why you want to hide me away."

"Who says I'm hiding you away?"

"Aren't you?"

"I told you – it's not a good area. You might find yourself in trouble if you go gallivanting about."

Ellie scoffed.

"I'll take my wand!"

"You're not allowed to use magic outside of school," Snape retorted with a triumphant look.

"Well then, you go out with me."

"I don't care for _fresh air_ myself," Snape said.

Ellie rolled her eyes in spite of herself.

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" she said, irritated.

Snape made a mock bow, gesturing with his hand.

"What's the real reason?" Ellie asked. It was Snape's turn to roll his eyes.

"I've already _told_ you…"

Ellie let out an indignant snort.

"I'm not an _idiot_, you know. What, are you afraid someone's going to see me and put two and two together?"

The mocking look disappeared from Snape's face, and was replaced with a more serious expression. Ellie sat up straight.

"Aha!" she cried.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"I saw that. You _are_ worried about someone seeing me!"

Snape scowled at her. Ellie frowned.

"Why? What is the big deal?"

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" Snape growled.

Ellie had to laugh to herself. Yes, they had. This was almost exactly how their conversation the previous evening had gone. This time however, Ellie was standing her ground.

"I'm not running away this time, so you'll just have to answer the question," Ellie stated simply.

Snape scowled again.

"Why must you always ask so many questions?" he snarled.

"Because you never tell me what I want to know," Ellie retorted, her boldness growing.

"There are some things you don't need to know," he replied with an angry sigh.

"Such as?" Ellie asked.

Snape stood up, frustrated.

"You know Ellie, my grandmother had a saying – 'Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies'. Perhaps it's a concept you could look into adopting," he said, striding towards the door.

"Hold on!" Ellie cried, jumping up.

"We're not done yet!" she added.

"We are now," Snape said coldly, and pulled his door open. He stood there waiting.

Ellie darted her eyes about in annoyance before giving in.

"Fine," she muttered and stalked out of the room.

From then on, Ellie and Snape became more cold and reserved with each other. Anyone who had suspicions that there may have been more to their relationship than professor and student would have had their doubts quashed by the formal way in which they addressed and behaved with each other in class, and when they happened to meet in a corridor. The extra lessons continued, but they involved work only. Snape began to push Ellie harder, and piled on more extra work for her to do in her free time. She wondered if this was Snape's way of punishing her.

Months passed, and spring gave way to summer. The whole school became obsessed with exams again, which were coming up in just one month. Ellie was feeling more stressed out than a good number of even the NEWTs students. Snape was not only taking up much of her study time with his lessons, but he had also mentioned getting copies of the OWL papers and testing Ellie over the summer. He seemed to have taken it for granted that she would be living him and not going to live with Amelia in America.

Ellie groaned to herself when she had a spare moment. This year had been nowhere near as enjoyable as her first two – it had in fact been a struggle most of the time. Snape kept pointing out to her that she barely needed to study as she was well past her year now in most of her subjects, but that wasn't the point. Ellie felt like she was missing out on other things – hanging out with friends for example. She had only gone to Hogsmeade once this year – every other time Snape had wanted her for more lessons. It was exasperating at times.

Still, despite it all, Ellie had almost made up her mind about what to do at the end of term. Although Snape drove her crazy a lot he was still her father, and that had to count for a lot. Although she loved Amelia and wanted to be closer to Jamie again, Ellie felt that she would regret passing up the chance to be with her father. She could still go and visit Amelia and Jamie in the holidays for a week or two. It wasn't nearly enough, but it would have to do. Although things seemed strained with Snape now, Ellie felt they had to get better. He was her father after all. Not all of his (unreasonable) demands may make sense to Ellie, but she felt that they must come from some sort of paternal affection for her – even if he was reluctant to show it. If they got to know each other better and he relaxed a bit more around her then that might change. If she went to America, she would never know.

While Ellie was thinking to herself about her relationship with Snape, someone else was musing over it too – Devin Farley. He was very curious about the amount of time Ellie spent in Snape's office. He had seen her coming and going from there many times. He didn't believe it was all detentions. He overheard snippets of conversations that he managed to piece together enough to deduce that Ellie was getting some kind of extra tuition from Snape. At first, Devin had thought it was to do with Potions – but Ellie was obviously miles better than anyone in the class was so that didn't make any sense. What was Snape teaching her then? Whatever it was Devin felt decidedly jealous. Wasn't he a Slytherin, and a pure-blood, and Snape was giving help to that half-blood Gryffindor? That wasn't right at all. In fact, Devin was positively seething. Where did Snape's loyalties lie anyway?

Devin decided that it was time Ellie was shown up in front of everyone. He had not forgotten his former rivalry with her friend Jamie – another black mark against Ellie. He would show her that Slytherins were the best in the school, no matter what grand ideas she was getting from Snape's attention.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin third years had a Potions class on Fridays. That Friday, Devin waited outside the classroom with his cronies for Ellie to appear. He had decided against using any spells on her in case he got caught – you couldn't hide a spell from a teacher – but Ellie had already proven herself to have a short fuse, so a few well-choice words should get her angry enough to strike out – just in time for Snape to come along and see everything. That would show her all right.

When Ellie did appear in the corridor, Devin watched her approach with a satisfied smirk.

"Hello Winterbourne," he said as she approached the door. He stepped in front of it, blocking her path.

"Out of the way Devin," Ellie said, sounding annoyed.

"Heard from your boyfriend lately Winterbourne? Miss him? Kiss your pillow at night and pretend it's him?"

Devin's friends sniggered about him, and Devin continued to smirk at her.

"Shut up," she muttered, and attempted to pass him. He grabbed her to stop her, and pushed her back. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen black robes sweeping around the corner at the end of the corridor. He would have to make this quick or else wait for the next class.

Devin made kissing noises to Ellie, and his friends copied him. Ellie felt furious, but she knew there was no point in losing her temper with Devin. Humiliation was the only thing that worked with him. Some Gryffindor students had popped their heads out of the door to see what was going on.

"You seem awfully concerned with Jamie, Devin. What's wrong? Miss him yourself? We all know why you spent so much time trying to get his attention…" Ellie said, a wicked gleam in her eye. She knew it was a low blow, but it was effective. The Gryffindors exploded with guffaws and even a couple of Slytherins began to snicker. Devin suddenly scrunched up his face in anger. He forgot about Snape, who was only a few feet in front of them, making his way to the classroom.

"You filthy little…" he began, but couldn't think of a word nasty enough to finish the sentence, so instead he pulled back his fist and punch her swiftly in the face. Ellie, caught off-guard, was thrown to the floor, blood gushing from her mouth. Devin stood over her, prepared to strike her again, but he was pulled back by a couple of Gryffindor boys. Snape was upon the scene immediately – instinctively running to Ellie and gently helping her up.

"What's going on here?" Snape said angrily. He realised his arms were still around Ellie, and he hastily dropped them.

"You saw what happened!" Chris, a Gryffindor boy, replied.

"She insulted me!" Devin shouted quickly, knowing that Snape was always biased in favour of Slytherins. Devin made gestures to his friends to back him up, and they began to enthusiastically claim that Ellie had started it – calling Devin all kinds of nasty things. Their voices drowned out the angry protests from the Gryffindors.

Snape looked at Ellie and then at Devin, aghast. He was caught. He had seen the whole thing of course. Devin had clearly attacked Ellie – and only a remarkable feat of self-control had stopped Snape from immediately blasting Devin through the wall. Had it been any other student than Ellie in this situation he would have admonished them for provoking Devin and then put the matter behind him. Devin was looking at him expectantly. When he turned to look at Ellie, he saw that _she_ was looking at him expectantly too. He was torn. If he did the right thing and punished Devin, it would arouse suspicions. Ellie would understand, surely.

"Miss Winterbourne," he said, his voice shaking slightly, although none of the Slytherins noticed this. They were too busy smirking triumphantly.

"I'm not sure what happened here, but I will not tolerate insulting another student. Five points from Gryffindor."

Snape then turned away from Ellie and walked towards the door of the classroom.

Something inside Ellie snapped. An intense anger began to rise within her, to a degree which she had never experienced before.

"What?" she said in a quiet voice behind Snape. He stopped, paused a moment, and then whirled around.

"You heard me Miss Winterbourne," he said coldly.

Ellie's breathing was shallow, her eyes on fire. The blood dripping down her chin added to her menacing look.

"Please tell me you are joking?" she said, her voice raised.

"If you wish to discuss this later…"

"No! I don't wish to discuss this later!" Ellie shouted. Snape winced.

"You _saw_ what happened. Don't you _dare_ tell me you didn't! There is absolutely _no_ way you could _not_ have seen what happened!"

"I…" Snape began, but Ellie didn't let him finish.

"What are you going to do about this?" Ellie yelled, gesturing at her mouth, which was still bleeding from an unknown source.

"I'll take you to the Hospital Wing," Snape said, taking her arm, eager to lead her away from the eagle-eyed Slytherin and Gryffindor students, who so far had hung on to every word of their conversation with interest.

Ellie shook Snape off, and gestured at Devin.

"I meant him! You saw him punch me! What happens to him?" Ellie said angrily.

Snape looked at Devin, who adopted an innocent expression. He then looked back at Ellie, although he avoided eye contact.

"I didn't actually see anything…" Snape said, but Ellie let out an indignant laugh, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

"Yeah right! You bloody well did!"

Snape flinched, but his expression remained cold.

"He did punch her! We all saw it!" a Gryffindor boy shouted from behind Snape's back.

"Well? There you go!" Ellie said, gesturing at the students standing behind Snape.

"Since I didn't actually see anything, I can't assume…" Snape began through clenched teeth, but again Ellie cut him off.

"_Assume_? You're perfectly willing to _assume_ I insulted Devin with no proof! There's physical evidence of Devin punching me staring you right in the face and you can't _assume _he did?" Ellie shouted, a look of disgust on her face.

"I can trust Mr. Farley's word…"

"Oh! But you can't trust mine, is that it?" Ellie yelled angrily. Her eyes blazed fiercer than ever as she let out a disbelieving laugh.

"I don't' believe this!" she shrieked.

"This subject is over!" Snape snarled, trying to calm her down, or at least shut her up.

"No it's not! I can't believe… you actually trust _him_ more than me?" Ellie asked incredulously.

"This is not the time," he hissed angrily at her, but she ignored him, and gave a disbelieving sigh.

"Do I mean _anything_ to you? Seriously? Am I just wasting my time here?" she said. Snape glared furiously at her.

"That will do!" he snapped.

"I mean, I'm about to give up… (shaking her head) _Everything_ comes ahead of me, doesn't it? What people think of you? It's why you won't… I mean you _know_ what happened here, but you're listening to that weasel over me!"

"Ellie," Snape hissed, trying to shut her up. Devin, standing on Snape's right hand side, mouthed, "_Ellie?_" with a puzzled look. A couple of the Gryffindors did the same thing.

"I just… I can't…" Ellie stammered, feeling at a loss for words. She glared up at Snape, her eyes meeting his. He was furious. The anger had faded from her eyes, and was replaced with a look of bitter disappointment. Snape was taken aback by this, and his own hard expression melted briefly in confusion.

"I can't stay here," Ellie suddenly stated, looking confused, but sounding firm. She began to walk off back to the stairs that led upstairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Snape shouted after her. Ellie turned back, the same disappointed look on her face.

"I can't stay here," she repeated more firmly.

"Get into class now!" Snape yelled, his anger returning. Ellie turned back and kept on walking.

"Ellie!" he yelled after her, his face red with fury, but she paid no attention. She made it to the end of the corridor and turned the corner, finally out of his view.

Snape stood still for a moment. He was breathing furiously, like a bull, his fists clenched by his sides.

Slowly, he turned around. A collection of shocked, amused and puzzled faces stared at him.

"Get into class," he hissed. The students did as they were told immediately, scrambling over each other to get to their seats. Anyone with even the barest acquaintance with Snape's temper knew that he was in a dangerous mood right now, and doing anything to anger him would be both foolish and, possibly, suicidal.

Ellie walked up the steps and into the Entrance Hall without pausing, and then, feeling weak, slumped against a wall and slid to the floor. She was in shock. Blood was still spilling from her but it poured down her chin and on to her robes, forgotten. All she could think about was her fight with Snape. It replayed over and over in her mind, until Professor McGonagall's horrified shrieks got her attention, and she was hurried off to the Hospital Wing. All Professor McGonagall's questions about what had happened went unheard by Ellie however, as the questions of Snape and what to do next consumed her thoughts, giving her a zombie-like appearance.

While Madame Pomfrey bustled about, tending to Ellie's lip and exclaiming at the fate of the school when a girl is attacked like this, it hit Ellie like lightening. She _knew_. She knew what she had to do next. She had always known somehow.

When Ellie got back to her common room that evening, she brushed aside the concerned questions of her classmates and sat down to write a letter. When she was finished she examined it, and she noticed blotches on the parchment, caused by tears she was not even aware she had been crying.

Wiping her face, she sealed her letter and then went off to the Owlery to find Helga.

"Take this to Amelia," she told the bird, giving her a pat. Helga took off gracefully, leaving Ellie to watch her soaring through the sky. When Helga had flown out of sight, Ellie suddenly felt exhausted. Collapsing against the wall, all the pent up emotions of the day began pouring out, and she spent the next hour huddled up by the wall, crying bitterly as the realisation of what she had just lost sunk in.


	39. Alone

**Author's Notes: **This is it! Last chapter, not counting the Epilogue. I'm not sure what everyone will think of this, but I _hope_ you enjoy it…

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Alone**

Looking back, the month following Ellie and Snape's fight became almost a blur. The one thing Ellie was able to say years later about it was that they managed to avoid each other as much as possible, even when in class together – with one exception.

Ellie received a swift answer to her letter from Amelia, assuring her that she was very welcome to come to her as soon as her exams were over. She did not even have to wait until the end of term. Amelia would write to Dumbledore to make the necessary arrangements. All that remained now was to tell Snape.

Ellie seriously considered saying nothing to him until closer to her departure, but she felt she at least owed him an explanation as soon as possible. It was with a heavy heart that she walked down the long, cold, dark corridor leading to Snape's dungeon office, and with a shaky hand that she knocked softly on the door. His familiar bark of "Enter," beckoned her in. Nervously, she opened the door and crossed the threshold into the chamber beyond. The sight of Snape sitting at his desk, bending over a piece of parchment with a quill in his hands greeted her. He glanced up briefly to see who it was that had just entered his office and then his eyes returned to his parchment. A second later, his head jerked up and his body went rigid as if he had only just now realised that the person he had just seen was Ellie.

"Professor Snape," Ellie stammered. He nodded his head to her in return, his eyes wide open. The air between them was tense. Each regarded the other with a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity. Ellie stepped forward, nearer to his desk but without taking a seat. She felt that she needed to remain standing.

"I… I thought you should know… I've decided to go to live with Amelia after the exams are over."

Snape's stony expression registered a brief mixture of surprise, disappointment, but acceptance. He nodded slightly, and his face slid back into a more neutral expression.

"I see," he said quietly. He was silent for a moment, but then added, "Perhaps that's for the best."

Tears sprang to Ellie's eyes as a wave of sadness swept over her.

"I want you to know… I'm very grateful for everything you've done for me, but…" Ellie had to stop to choke back an unexpected sob. Snape nodded again, looking at the floor.

"When are you leaving?"

"As soon as the exams are finished," Ellie replied with a shaky voice.

"Well… if that's…. if that's what you want…"

"I just think that… (sighing) that we're very different people, with different ideas on what's right and what's acceptable and what's not… and I think that we'd…. we'd drive each other crazy if I stayed here."

"Right," Snape said firmly, nodding his head again. He looked up at her and she was surprised by the cold expression in his eyes.

"Well, don't let me keep you," he said in a bored voice, and inclined his head towards the door.

Ellie suddenly felt like she had been stabbed in the chest. It was as if Snape had decided he didn't even care that she was leaving. This was killing her, and he was already looking back over his parchment again.

"I'm sure you have an exam to study for, Miss Winterbourne," Snape added, keeping his eyes glued to his parchment.

Ellie frowned in confusion to hear Snape calling her "Miss Winterbourne", and more tears formed behind her eyes, forcing her to blink to keep her vision from blurring.

"Is that it?" she asked, confused.

Snape clicked his tongue irritably and looked up.

"What were you expecting?"

"I…"

"Did you want me to beg you to stay?" he sneered.

Ellie shook her head, beginning to feel very distressed.

"No, I just thought…"

"You thought you could manipulate me to do what you wanted in some pathetic attempt to convince you not to leave?"

Ellie was shocked by the cruel tone in Snape's voice, and the harsh gleam in his eyes.

"No!"

"I see. Well Miss Winterbourne, I'm afraid whatever it is you're looking for, you won't find it here." He turned back to his parchment.

There was a pause and then:

"I'm looking for someone to love me."

It was out of her mouth before Ellie even knew what she was saying. Her hands trembled by her sides when she was finished and she gazed fearfully at Snape as she waited for his response.

When Ellie said it, Snape felt like someone had just cut into him with a knife. His whole body flinched. He continued to stare at his parchment as his breathing became slightly heavier, taking a moment before finally daring to look up at Ellie. The frightened, tearful expression on her face would be enough to melt anyone's heart, and were Snape a weaker man Ellie would have left his room feeling like the happiest person in the world. A sudden resolve had taken over him however, forcing him to stay seated in his chair, a grim expression on his face.

He had been entertaining a fool's dream for the last few months by believing it was possible for Ellie to live with him. She had been right of course – it was unreasonable of him to expect her to remain locked up all summer in that Godforsaken house. He had hated it as a teenager, and as an adult, he hated it more. To expect Ellie to accept it has her home – as her prison – was unfair.

He knew that it would not be possible to give Ellie what she wanted. He suspected that she was holding out for him to make some grand, fatherly gesture and announce proudly to the world that she was his daughter and that he wanted everyone to know it. She wanted to not just be loved, as had just told him, she wanted to _feel_ loved. He sympathised with her more than she knew. How well he understood her pain, although she would never know.

Amelia could give that to her. Selfishly, jealously, he hated her for that. Even Jamie, the boy he detested so much for that very reason, could gladly and willingly give Ellie what she needed. To make Ellie stay with him to be alone and miserable and "hidden away" as she had put it would be cruel and selfish.

With Amelia and Jamie Ellie would feel loved and wanted. With him, she would only feel frustrated and rejected. He had wanted so desperately to have Ellie in his life that he had ignored this, but what had happened on Friday had acted as a stark reminder of how delicate their situation really was. She would only grow to hate him if she stayed.

"Well, perhaps you will be better off with Amelia then," Snape said coldly.

Ellie's body seemed to crumple at these worlds. She was dangerously close to collapsing on the floor with sobs. She could not even speak, and escape was the only relief she could think of. She ran, her legs shaky but just about holding her upright, out of the room, down the corridor, up into the Entrance Hall and up the main staircase. Her whole body aching, she couldn't go much further, and ducked into a nearby girl's toilet. She sunk against the wall, overcome by wracking sobs. It had all been a disaster. Everything with Snape… it had all been for nothing. She had been so stupid! She was glad she was leaving. She wished she could leave now, just leave and never come back.

It was a sunny morning in June. Birds chirped outside the windows and a fresh breeze danced through the courtyard, bringing with it exquisite smells for the multi-coloured flowerbeds that were in full-bloom outside of the castle. Excited chattering and laughter could be heard throughout the castle as students everywhere were still celebrating the end of exams four days ago. No more classes to worry about - no more homework, no more studying and, for one third year Gryffindor, no more Hogwarts.

Whilst her classmates messed about by the lake, laughing and joking without a care in the world, Ellie was in her dormitory, packing up her possessions. It was with a bittersweet feeling that she folded up her school robes and placed them neatly in her trunk, knowing she would never wear them again. Next were school things such as quills, ink pots, books, her old class notes and even some essays that she had received good marks on and did not want to part with. A few personal items came last – some photos of her classmates, silly notes that she had been passed in class that mainly made fun of Devin Farley – and her mum's diary. Satisfied that she had remembered everything, and taking one last tearful look around the room, Ellie stepped out onto the spiral staircase and walked down into the empty Gryffindor common room.

Ellie was glad no one else was there, so she could shed some tears in peace. She stared for a long time at the corner where she and Jamie had had so many private talks, and then smiled to herself. She had had some happy times and some sad ones in this room, but each moment was a moment she treasured. Another last look around, trying to take in every detail, and then she was through the portrait hole and making her way to the Entrance Hall.

As Ellie descended the wide staircase, she spotted Snape skulking about at the bottom. He looked up and saw her and their eyes locked. She stopped walking for a moment, as each looked uncertainly at the other. Slowly, she continued on her way and finally reached the bottom. She and Snape nodded awkwardly to each other and stood apart in silence. Eventually, about a minute later, Snape spoke.

"So… you're leaving today," he said in a quiet voice. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah," Ellie said. "Amelia's meeting here," she added as an afterthought.

Snape nodded, staring at the floor.

"Right," he replied.

There was more silence between them. Ellie was feeling more wretched by the second.

"I just… I want you to know," she said finally, "…I meant it when I said I appreciate everything you've done for me."

Snape nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"I wish that… I wish that things could have been different," she added.

Snape glanced up at her.

"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself," he said curtly.

"Um… yeah," she said vaguely.

They lapsed into silence, but Snape did not leave, as Ellie half-expected he would. It seemed he had decided to remain with her until the end. Ellie wondered hopefully if that meant something, and then chastised herself for thinking such foolish thoughts.

Amelia arrived in the Hall after a while, with Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall at her side. They were going to accompany Amelia and Ellie to Hogsmeade. Snape withdrew to a shadowy corner behind the stairs. Amelia and Professor McGonagall showed no signs of seeing him, but Dumbledore's eyes darted briefly to the corner in which he was standing.

"Ready to go?" Amelia asked brightly.

Ellie nodded her head.

"Now, is this all your luggage? We have a carriage waiting outside."

Ellie nodded again. Her trunk and Helga's cage were standing beside her. Helga herself had been sent ahead and was being looked after by Jamie. Taking an owl on a plane would raise more than a few eyebrows.

Amelia took charge of Ellie's trunk and wheeled it outside. Professor McGonagall followed her and Dumbledore picked up Helga's cage.

"We'll be waiting for you outside," he told her, and Ellie could have sworn he winked at her before he followed the others out.

Ellie glanced at Snape, who stepped out from the shadows once more. She didn't know what to say. How do you say goodbye to your father when you don't know if you will ever see him again?

They looked awkwardly at each other for a few moments. Ellie was aware that the others were waiting for her, so finally, in a choked voice, she spoke up.

"Well… bye then," she said. Snape said nothing in reply, which hurt Ellie deeply. She turned to leave, tears springing to her eyes, but Snape called after her.

"I know results are not supposed to come out until next week…."

Ellie turned around, curious.

"…But I happen to know that your professors have already marked your exam papers and… I just thought you'd want to know that you came top of your year."

There was an unmistakable glow of pride in his voice, and Ellie thought she could detect something in his eyes that she had never seen before – a look that he had kept hidden from her, but in this moment, it shone through his barriers. Ellie was hesitant to put a label on it, she had been hurt so much already, but she knew that if Snape asked her to right now, she would stay.

She glanced at him, holding her breath, not daring to hope. His mouth opened, and Ellie's heart began to beat furiously against her ribs, but he hesitated, and seemed to change his mind. Ellie hung her head in bitter disappointment.

"Goodbye… Ellie," he said quietly. The use of her chosen nickname touched her. It felt almost like a gesture from him – for whatever reasons she could not understand he would not allow himself to love her, but maybe somewhere, deep down…

"Goodbye… _Dad_," she whispered softly, and was gone before Snape had time to react.

He walked swiftly to the door and peered out, in time to see Ellie jump into a carriage and watch it take off. He walked outside, watching the carriage make its way towards the gates, taking Ellie out of his life. He stood watching for a long time, long after the carriage had moved out of his sight, long after it had returned with Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore, the latter giving him a comforting look that he never saw. Students streamed inside around him, but he remained outside, watching, lost in his own thoughts – thoughts of Claudia and Ellie mixed up together - two people he loved who had walked out of his life, the former never to return again. Would Ellie ever return again? Would he ever see her again? These thoughts tortured him for a long time, for many hours, days, months, years…

It was not until the sun began to set and dusk had settled over Hogwarts that Snape turned back and returned to the castle, alone - as he always had been, and always would be.


	40. Epilogue

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone who read this story! A special thank you to all who reviewed! The next "chapter" is pretty much a post-mortem of the story, so there's no need to read it if you're not interested.

Once again, thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Epilogue**

_23 February 1997_

Professor Snape sat hunched at a table in The Three Broomsticks, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. His eyes darted about nervously. A waitress approached him and asked him what he would like, giving him a curious stare. Snape scowled to himself. He knew it must look strange him sitting here alone – he never set foot in the place unless he was dragged here by Dumbledore. He ordered a scotch, which caused the waitress to raise her eyebrow briefly.

"Just yourself here today Professor Snape?" she enquired with a twinkle in her eye.

Snape scowled again.

"I'm waiting for someone," he gruffly informed her. She nodded her head and went off to get his drink. A moment later, she came back, setting a glass on the table in front of him.

"Enjoy your drink," she told him, and he glared after her in annoyance.

Snape spent a solid minute complaining to himself about having to sit in this annoying pit before he glanced up and saw her. He jumped up, knocking the table and spilling half of his drink.

She was standing in the doorway, a warm smile on her face. Although it had been almost six years, he recognised her immediately. Those twinkling eyes were still her mother's eyes. His breath was taken away as he took her in. She was no longer a scrawny thirteen-year-old girl as he remembered her, but instead a tall, beautiful young woman stood in her place. She bore a remarkable resemblance to her mother, but Snape noted to himself that she was taller, and her complexion had remained pale – like him, despite the sunny Californian weather she had been exposed to for the last six years.

She stepped forward, still smiling. He moved to meet her. They met in the centre of the room, coming to a stop in front of each other.

"Hi," she said in a shy voice.

"Ellie," he replied in an awe-struck voice, and received a warm look for his effort. They stood together in silence for several moments, until Ellie laughed awkwardly. Starting, Snape shook himself out of his stupor and gestured to the table he had been sitting at. Without a word, Ellie followed him and took a seat opposite him.

"It's good to see you," she told him warmly, offering him another smile.

"I was surprised to get your letter," Snape admitted. Ellie nodded vigorously and laughed.

"I thought you might be! But I'm glad you agreed to see me," she said.

"Of course," he told her.

There was another silence, broken by the same waitress as before, who appeared at the table and asked Ellie if she would like anything.

"Oh! I'll have a butterbeer please!" she told her, and the waitress nodded and scuttled off.

"I only ever had one once, but it was the best thing I ever tasted!" Ellie whispered to Snape. He nodded, and Ellie suddenly smiled to herself, as if she were amused by something.

"Still at Hogwarts then?" Ellie said.

"Yes."

"Congratulations by the way. I heard you finally got the Defence Against the Dark Arts job."

Snape hesitated for a moment and then muttered a, "thank you."

"Did you keep up with your training?" he asked suddenly. Ellie laughed and nodded. Leaning closer to him and lowering her voice, she added more seriously, "these are dark times. I have to admit, I do sleep easier at night thanks to your teaching."

"How is your Occlumency?" he whispered to her.

"Try me," she whispered, her eyes gleaming playfully. Snape stared at her for a moment, and then his lips curved into a thin smile.

"You haven't forgotten then," he said, satisfied.

"You have nothing to worry about," she told him. He raised an eyebrow for a moment.

"Nobody knows, except Amelia and Jamie of course," she told him.

"Good," he muttered. Ellie shook her head, but she had a wry smile on her face.

The waitress appeared again with Ellie's drink, who took it gratefully.

"Ahem. How is Mr. Logan, now that you've mentioned him," Snape asked.

Ellie blushed slightly.

"Well… we're going to get married," she admitted.

Snape's eyes bulged and his heart stopped for a moment. He gripped the table.

"Indeed!" he replied. Ellie laughed at him.

"Yes! Don't act so surprised!"

"Oh I'm not surprised at all, believe me," Snape muttered. Ellie laughed again.

"That's actually why I'm here," she told him, sobering up.

"I see," Snape said, suddenly wishing that he and Ellie were in some place more private.

"I know Jamie was never your favourite person, but I wanted you to know."

Snape nodded.

"….And, I was wondering if…"

Snape closed his eyes and put up his hand, signalling for Ellie to stop.

"What's wrong?" she asked frowning.

Snape darted his eyes about, and grunted.

"Let's go for a walk," he finally said, standing up.

"I don't understand…" Ellie began as she got up to follow Snape.

Snape was silent until they were outside.

"Can you apparate?" he asked her. She nodded, confused.

"Meet me at the main entrance to Hogwarts," he told her. She gave him a puzzled look, but disappeared in front of him. Half a second later, he followed.

She was waiting for him at the gate. He looked furtively about and then took out his wand and tapped the gates. He then pushed one open and gestured to Ellie to go inside. He followed her in, tapping the gates behind him. Taking her arm, he led her away from the main path, and they walked for quite a while until they came to a wild looking part of the grounds, surrounded by trees. Snape looked about again, and waved his wand, muttering something that Ellie didn't quite catch.

"It should be safe enough to talk here," he said.

"Okay, what's that all about?" Ellie asked, puzzled.

Snape sighed.

"There are some things I never got around to telling you about me Ellie," he confessed.

They talked for hours, Ellie's expression alternating between wonder, horror and shock. When Snape had finished his story Ellie nodded and then remarked, "I guess this means you won't be coming to the wedding." She gave him a wry smile, but her eyes registered her disappointment.

"I don't think it would be a good idea," Snape admitted.

"That's okay," she told him. "I'm glad you told me why."

"I should probably get back. Jamie's a bit worried about me being here, what with everything that's been reported in the news," she added.

"Yes, you should get back. You're safer there than you are here."

"Um, before we go… I want to you to know something," Ellie said, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

Snape waited, curious.

"I… I love you Dad," she said. Snape looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. He opened his mouth, and Ellie could see the internal struggle he was facing in his eyes.

"Hey," she whispered. "It's okay, I know."

She smiled at him, and he could not help a small smile in return.

They walked back to the gates in silence. Snape opened them for Ellie, and stepped out into the lane with her.

They stared at each other for a moment before parting

"Goodbye," Ellie said finally, giving Snape the same warm smile she had greeted him with.

"Goodbye," he replied, his expression neutral, save for a twinkle in his eyes that Ellie could correctly interpret.

One more smile, and she disappeared in front of him. He stared at the spot in which she had just been standing. Once again, he was left alone… and once again, he wondered if he would ever see his daughter again.

The End


	41. Final Notes

Some people may not like the way the story ended, but I couldn't end it any other way, so I hope some people liked it for what it was too.

I read my first Harry Potter fanfic about a week before I started on this story. While I love both Harry and Snape equally, I was more interested in reading Snape fic for a few reasons:

I'm not a shipper when it comes to Harry Potter so I have no real interest in reading Harry/Hermione/Ron/Ginny/Draco/Snape fics, and whatever other pairings are out there.

I feel I know Harry pretty well as he's the main character in every book and we see almost everything through his eyes.

Snape is a very ambiguous character on the other hand, so I was interested to see what other people made of him. I read a few interesting stories, and I noticed that along with all the various shipper fics associated with Snape, there were also a significant proportion of "Snape discovers he has a long-lost child" fics. I found this pretty interesting, and thinking about it I thought – yeah, Snape is _totally_ the kind of guy you could imagine this happening to! He's quite reserved and a bit spooky, not to mention the Death Eater associations – I could see him involved with someone who backed off (or ran away) because he was a hard person to be around, or because of all the Death Eater stuff.

I read of a few of these types of fics, all the ones I came across basically (bearing in mind that I have barely tapped the surface of Harry Potter fanfiction, it isn't a lot). In every completed one I read Snape and the kid always end up bonding and loving each other and it ends on a happy note. This was interesting enough, but immediately a scene came to mind of Snape standing outside Hogwarts, watching his child leave him because he was too hard to be around. I wanted to read something like that, but couldn't find anything, so I decided to write this story – all based on that one scene. I find Snape to be a somewhat tragic character, so I think happy endings don't necessarily suit him – not until we know his fate from book 7. I wanted my story to be a semi-plausible back story to Snape so I couldn't give him a happy ending anyway as it would have detracted from my idea of Snape in the books.

I hope I kept Snape in character as much as possible. He fits in quite well with my idea of what Snape is like, but everybody will take away a different interpretation so I just hope I did him justice.

A few more random points:

Every Snape's kid fic I've read so far had the kid being in Slytherin. I think it's funnier if his kid is in the house he hates so that's why Ellie ended up in Gryffindor.

I wanted Ellie and Snape to clash a lot so that it would be believable that she would walk away in the end. I had a lot of fun writing their battles and I hope they came across as in character. I love how they would start out having normal conversations but then end up yelling at each other!

When I was writing this, I felt that at all times Snape did love Ellie – even in the beginning when he first sees her as she is about to be sorted there's just something there that sets her apart from the other students. When he suspects that she's Claudia's daughter, even though he doesn't realise that he's her father at the time, I think there is this unwanted affection for her just because she's Claudia's daughter, even though he kinda hates her for that too. I think that's part of what initially ruffles his feathers about her – he feels a connection to her because of her mother and he absolutely detests that. I actually found myself thinking about Snape and Harry when I was writing this and now all those Snape/Lily theories I've heard about are starting to make a lot more sense. Hmm…

Anyway, I think it's very "Snape" for him to love someone but to not be able to actually express that love to the person. With Claudia he was younger and he was a little bit more open with his affections, plus he was actually in romantic love for the first time so he was less weary. With Ellie she's a child who has been sprung on him, she irritates him, and he's closed himself off from "love" for so long that he just can't open up the way he might have been able to had he and Claudia remained together. He also feels this burden over the Death Eater/Order of the Phoenix stuff so he feels he needs to keep away from personal attachments for those reasons. It's sad for him and Ellie because without that hanging over his head they might have been able to forge some kind of relationship.

About what happens next:

I don't know if Ellie and Snape ever see each other again. Depending on your personal preference – if Snape is really a bad guy then no, they don't; if Snape is really a good guy and he doesn't die then yes, they do. I'm hoping Snape is a good guy. ;-)


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